Not A Fan
by Shadowthorn2013
Summary: Len Kagamine is a super popular rock star, with millions of fangirls. But all he's ever wanted is to have an actual friend. Rin Akita is a down-to-earth, A-grade student with a wild side, who happens to hate all things Kagamine; especially Len. But when they're partnered up for a science project, those feelings may just change.
1. Chapter 1 - Kagamine-sama

**A/N: Since I cancelled writing Shinigami's Wish, I'm going to begin writing Not A Fan, as I think I'll be more motivated having two fictions on the go at once, as I'll have more readers depending on me! **

**This is probably going to be a pretty long fic, coz I'm not rushing anything this time. **

**Disclaimer: Never put one of these before coz I thought it was obvious that someone like me couldn't own Vocaloid; I mean, seriously, if I did?... If I did... You'd know about it... *evil grin*.**

The private jet juddered again, my body guard's coffee bouncing in his cup as he read the newspaper that was folded on his lap.

"You made headlines again, Len," He said, turning the page to the article, "By the looks of it, we're going to get bombarded in media and fangirls like usual."

I wasn't really listening to Dell, I was too busy strategising a plan to survive in the school I'd be attending for two months during my trip. If it was as full of fangirls as the last school was, I'd be mauled in three seconds flat without a plan.

Heck, I mightn't even make it to the airport if what Dell says is true. Dell folded the newspaper and tucked it down the back of the seat. He was stressed, mainly because he hadn't had a cigarette in an hour, but also because he'd been to where we were going before. It was where his ex lived, I knew that.

Of course, his ex wasn't a fan last time we checked, so I highly doubted we'd be bumping into her at a concert. Unless her new husband or her kids were fans, and if she had it her way, they wouldn't be.

That's what sucked about being famous; you were either obsessed over, loved (stalked, really) or absolutely detested. You'd done nothing to deserve either, but everyone does it anyway. Whether it's magazines portraying you as the most beautiful person alive, or saying you unfairly broke up with some girl.

Somehow, those lies influenced everyone's opinions. Dell was really my only friend, besides Miku. Miku was another singer, a pop diva who was actually exactly like the magazines portrayed her to be; the exception being she wasn't dating me.

Miku and I were friends, sure, but that was solely because we both knew what the other was really like. It was sad I was forced to mix with the other famous singers, and couldn't have an honest, guenine conversation with someone who didn't own more than one car.

"God, I need a cigarette," Dell muttered, shifting his feet slightly and playing with his thumbs.

"Just chew on one," I mumbled.

"You know that doesn't work, Len."

"It's that or nothing."

Dell sighed, taking out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth, chewing it intently. I got up from my seat, shuffling past Dell and taking my bag from the railing. I unzipped it, grabbing the seat as the jet wobbled. I pulled out my Ipod, before stuffing my bag back up in the railings. Sitting back down, I shoved my earphones in.

Everyone thought I'd listen to only my own songs, as Miku always did, but instead, I listened to music that was nothing like mine. I never did covers of the songs I liked; because I was told they weren't 'me', that I was Len Kagamine, rock star and one of the most desirable guys alive.

Whereas, in reality, I had a love for all things anime, for books and manga and nerdy stuff that my manager would never let me near. Dell was different; he was the one manager that didn't really care what I did, as long as I sung.

Unfortunately, he was my body guard, not my manager.

"Kagamine-sama!" She yelled happily, coming out from the front of the plane with hot cocoa. Her pink hair bobbed as she made her way over to me happily. Teto Kasane; my over-the-top, constantly happy manager; who hated all things anime and nerdy. And she was a fangirl.

"Yeah?" I asked, my music playing faintly in the background, barely audible over her loud, cheery voice.

"I made you some hot cocoa, Kagamine-sama! With little marsh mellows and everything!" She handed me the cocoa, leaning over Dell, who was much too busy chewing his cigarette intently to notice anything.

"And some for you too, Honne-san!" She beamed, handing Dell the hot cocoa. He took it, even though he'd finished his coffee just moments ago.

"Uh, Teto, can I please have a banana?" I asked.

"Pardon?" She said sweetly.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "Teto-_chan _can I please have a banana?"

"Sure, Kagamine-sama!" She beamed, skipping down the aisle. I sighed, slipping down in my seat as I sipped my hot cocoa, the small marsh mellows banging against my top lip.

"She's even more excited than usual," Dell said calmly, holding the hot cocoa and chewing on his cigarette, "Why do think that is?"

"I can't really tell the difference," I shrugged, turning up the volume and closing my eyes, letting myself be absorbed into the music.

I sighed, enjoying the smooth, sweet song. Not that I'd ever be allowed to sing it at a concert. 'Graduation Photo' wasn't my style apparently. Not poppy or cool enough to come out of Len Kagamine's mouth.

I hummed along to the soft tune, as Teto bounded down the aisle, banana in hand. I paused the song.

"Thank you, Teto-chan." I said, taking the banana and peeling it. Chewing on a piece, I played the song, noticing how Teto watched me like some creepy stalker from the other side of the aisle, perched up on a seat, eyes watching me intently.

_How did I get stuck with a manager like her?..._

"Kagamine-sama," I read her lips and paused my music.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I love you," She smiled and I turned the volume up, letting my eyes stray out the window. _Yeah, how DID I get stuck with her? SeeU was such a better manager; coz she didn't obsess over me every second of the day..._

It was a pity SeeU had had to go back to her family in Korea and couldn't come on the tour with me, so I was stuck with fangirl manager Teto-"chan" Kasane. And she had been irritating me since day one.

_"Oh my god... Are you?... Are you Len Kagamine!" She'd squealed._

_"Uh yeah-"_

_"I LOVE YOU KAGAMINE-SAMA!"_

Originally, I'd thought she'd been a fangirl and I'd been really depressed when I found she was my manager and that I'd be stuck with her for two months... I suppose she made pretty good french bread at least.

With 'Graduation Photo' blaring in my ears, I pretended I couldn't see her blowing kisses to me out of the corner of my eye. Really; she thought that because she knew the real me, I loved her or something.

[...]

When the plane finally dipped down through the clouds and landed in the airport, it was late afternoon. I took my bag down, pulling up the handle and tugging it down the aisle. I still had my headphones in, and my Ipod tucked in my jeans' pocket.

I did up the bottom silver buckle on my black jacket, pulling the hood over my face. Stuffing one my hands into my pocket with my Ipod, I dragged my suitcase with the other.

Teto was running behind me, saying things like, "This is going to be fun, Kagamine-sama!"

Dell was stuck dragging Teto's five hundred bags, as well as his own. Least he was well-built and meant for doing the heavy work.

I stepped aside so Dell could go down the ramp into the airport first. He stood by the side as Teto happily bounced down, and I followed.

"KAGAMINE-SAMA!" The crowds of eager fangirls yelled, as I appeared at the top of the ramp. Flashes from cameras blinded me and the screams defeaned me. I wanted to shield my eyes and turn up the volume so I couldn't hear them at all, but, instead, I just smiled at the cameras, waving boldly as I stepped down the ramp.

Bodyguards that were already waiting for us held back the waves of fangirls, and Dell walked with me to the airport, whereas Teto was busy chatting up the media.

"Told you," Dell said.

"I never said you were wrong," I retorted and he smiled slightly. We went through a private doorway and exited the terminal.

"Kasane's going to meet us at the hotel," Dell explained, as we walked to the taxi. I opened the door, shoving my bag into the bag before climbing in and slamming the door shut. Dell climbed in the front.

The taxi driver went off driving, already having being told where to drive us. I leant back in my seat, flicking through my songs. I selected 'My Girl' and turned up the volume so I couldn't hear anything else.

The sun started setting as we drove. I was thankful to spend two hours in silence and without Teto's constant flirting and fangirling. I mean, I could handle some fangirling, but Teto brought it to a whole other level.

I played all my favourite songs twice on the ride. I was listening to a 'Once Upon A December' cover by Miku's cousin, Avanna, when we pulled up to a curb. We were outside a fancy, golden brick, five-storey building. It was quite old, with beautiful details and two old, red-leaved trees out the front.

"Thank you," Dell said, getting out of the car and dragging Teto's bags in with us after paying the taxi driver. I took my bag, looking up at the building. Compared to the rest of the dirty city, it was stunning.

Dell and I headed inside and Dell got our key while I sat on a red leather sofa in the waiting room, getting occasional glances and whispers.

"Is that... Len Kagamine?"

"Oh my god, it is."

"Let's go," Dell said and we headed up the stairs, before taking the elevator. I was surprised no-one followed us up to see where we'd be staying. I pushed through the door to room 44, walking down the long corridor.

"Three bedrooms, each with an en-suite and walk-in wardrobe. Public bathroom as well as kitchen, dining room and lounge." Dell explained, "You go choose your room, I'll ditch Kasane's stuff somewhere."

I nodded, pushing through the first bedroom door. The room had a white rug over the dark carpet, the double bed with a black quilt and white sheets and pillows, as well as two bedside tables.

I shoved the door shut, and pulled the curtains together. I unpacked all my clothes; the pre-ordered uniform for the school I'd be attending, my concert clothes and just some casual wear I liked.

Flopping back on the bed, I took the earphones from my ears and placed my Ipod down on my bedside. I stared up at the ceiling, imagining how chaotic my first day would be.

Oh well, least today was Saturday here. I still had one more day before being mauled alive by fangirls.

I sat up, taking the chain necklace from around my neck and holding it in my hand, looking at the bass symbol that hung from it. I smiled to myself, laying it down next to my Ipod, before dressing in my pyjamas and hitting the hay.

[...]

I sat in a downtown cafe, my orange hoodie in my eyes and my hair down so no-one would recognise me at a first glance. I played with the necklace in my fingers, turning it as I sipped my banana smoothie.

My thumb rubbed against the smooth silver metal, before I slipped it under my shirt, looking idly out at the city. Buildings lined the other side of the street, people passing by, attending to their daily business. I leant on my hand, just wondering what it would be like to be normal.

Not wealthy, not infamous, not talented with anything musical; just normal. Unable to play both guitar and piano like a professional since the age of ten, not being the most famous and desirable male alive at sixteen.

"Excuse me, sir," A nervous voice said. I turned to see a cute waitress with a long, blonde side-ponytail and golden eyes standing there, "Have you finished?"

"Not yet," I said, stirring my smoothie with my see-through straw.

"O-o-okay," She stammered, "Y-y-you know, you r-r-remind me of someone."

"I remind a lot of people of someone," I said simply, before turning to look out the window again.

"Oh." She said, "I-I-It's just, y-y-your voice s-s-sounds f-f-familiar and you l-l-look familiar."

"I'm not a stalker if that's what you're trying to get out," I smiled to myself, seeing her confused expression reflecting in the window.

"S-S-S-Sorry," She stammered, before turning on her heel and walking off. I sighed, continuing to stir my smoothie before drinking the rest of it and placing the glass on the counter with the money to pay for it.

The nervous waitress took it and I went to walk out.

"Oh!" I heard her say, "I know! You remind me of Len Kagamine!"

I ignored her, walking out of the cafe, the bell jingling as I went. I stuck my hands in my jeans pocket, heading down the road.

Sometimes I just wanted to yell 'Who doesn't know my name?!' at a crowd, and see who raised their hand; if anyone raised their hand that was.

I visited a local bookstore and bought two volumes of my favourite manga series, thanking them before heading off down to the local park. I sat on the park bench, leaning back and reading through the manga.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting and the street lamps were flickering on. I put my manga away in the bag that I received when I bought it, leaning against the bench back rest and looking up at the flickering, orange lamps.

"Pay up, Akita," A voice spat in the distance. I sat up, looking around.

"I told you, I don't have anything! Let go of me you perverts!" A girl yelled angrily.

"Or what, you'll call your policeman daddy? Not without your phone you won't!"

There were sniggers as the girl made a grunting noise.

"You know, Akita, you're actually pretty damned cute," A boy said, "How 'bout you be my girl, eh?"

"Wouldn't that be cheating on your toilet seat?" The girl retorted, causing a few other boys to snigger. I stood, walking towards the sound. It was coming from a nearby alley.

"Oh shut it, Akita."

"I know your names, you idiots," She said, "I can just tell my father and you'll be arrested."

"Not if you don't go home," One of them sniggered and I heard a girl yelp. I picked up my pace, turning the corner and looking down the alley.

A gang of thugs were harassing a blonde-haired girl, who was swatting away their hands as they tried to reach under her skirt.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU PERVERTS-" She screamed, but one of the boys' hands clamped over her mouth.

"Oi!" I yelled, causing everyone to look over to where I stood at the entrance to alleyway.

"Shit," One of the boys cussed, "He looks like her brother. Let's scram."

They disbanded from her, bumping into me as they ran past me, almost knocking me over. She rested on her knees, before looking up at me.

"You okay?" I asked, offering a hand.

"What kind of dumb ass question is that?" She asked, "I was almost raped, of course I'm not fricking okay!"

Her hand shot out, slapping me hard across the cheek. Wait; she didn't recognise me? This close up, someone didn't recognise me?

"Jeez," She said, "You should think before opening your mouth and saying dumb things like that."

"Sorry," I apologised rubbing my cheek, "But I don't think you had to hit me that hard. After all, I did kind of just save you."

She shrugged, "I don't care."

"Oh, so you'd have preferred me to just let them rape you?" I asked sarcastically.

She stared at me for a moment, before smiling lopsidedly, "Nah. I suppose. Thanks for saving me."

She took her bag from the corner of the alleyway, manga novels flowing out from it. She tucked them all in, pulling the bag over her shoulder, "Anyway, I best get going. See you, dumb ass."

She waved to me, jogging out the alley, "And thanks for your help!"

She was one weird girl. I headed out of the alley, turning down the street before finding a public phone box. I took it, ringing Dell's private number.

"Hey, can you come pick me up?" I asked, before giving him my current location. I leant against the wall of a resturant and Dell turned up in a flashy silver car that he was borrowing a few minutes later, leaning out the door puffing smoke out.

I climbed in the passenger seat, pulling the door shut.

"I was beginning to worry, Len," Dell said, puffing more smoke outside the window.

"I was just taking the time to read the manga I bought; coz Teto's probably going to burn it." I said and Dell smiled slightly.

Did I ever mention Dell drives like a complete lunatic? I was used to it though; after being driven around by the lunatic for three years, I kind of had to be; yeah, that's right; I'd been famous since I was thirteen.

One of the songs I did - 'Mr. Taxi' - came on the radio and I groaned, flicking it off. I hated my own songs and covers more than I hated fangirls. Dell had always found it ironic how I hated my own singing.

We pulled up at the apartment and I headed upstairs, ditching my bag of manga in my room before walking into the kitchen to meet a very worried Teto-"chan".

"Kagamine-sama! Do you know how worried I was?!" She squealed, throwing her arms around me and sobbing. I patted her back, feeling myself stiffen when she came too close.

"Teto-chan, I'm fine," I insisted and she pulled away, sniffling, tears in her eyes. The girl was either so obsessed and idiotic that she desperately needed a life, or the best actor I'd ever seen.

"You know I trust you, Kagamine-sama," Teto said, "But, honestly, you ought to be more responsible! You're mega famous, and I'm sure there's lots of people who'd love to kidnap you!"

"You're over-reacting," I said, brushing her off, before opening the fridge and pushing past the bottles of soda and pulling out the banana-flavoured milk, setting it down on the counter and popping it open.

"She isn't, Len," Dell said ("Len?! You mean Kagamine-sama!"), as he lent on the counting, puffing on his cigarette, "The only times you're permitted to not have a bodyguard are school and home, is that a deal?"

"Oh but what if someone hurts him at school!" Teto exclaimed.

"He's Len Kagamine," Dell said, "There's bound to be at least fifty girls who'd risk their lives to save his butt."

The sad thing was, it was true.

**The chapter was mainly to get Dell, Len and Teto's personalities across. You know what to do~ (hint: review).**

**Many thanks :D**


	2. Chapter 2 - Crypton Academy

**A/N: Thank you~ All I can say is thank you! I know I say it all the time, but really, I mean it! Day after day, I'm exhausted from staying up late and waking up early to write, but your reviews and support are what help me get through the day! :3**

The school gates were quite old, big and rusted. I stood in front of them, dressed in school uniform. Formal black pants, an ironed, white, collared shirt with black buttons on the cuffs, and a black tie.

My black shoes clacked on the cement as I pushed through the gates. I'd arrived earlier than the other students to get a private tour of the large, red-bricked school. A large tree sat out the front, a few students comparing notes, even this early in the morning. It was only seven, and school began at eight.

"Oh my god..." I heard one of the girls say, "Is that...?"

I ignored them, taking my Ipod from my pocket and putting the headphones in my ears, shoving my hands in my pockets as I walked off to the front office. Everyone would say I was a moody teenager, acting like this for more attention, I knew that. But I was famous; why would I want _more _attention?

I pushed into the front office, a young, silver-haired woman was leaning against the counter, a blue ribbon loosely tying up her hair. I almost burst out laughing. It was Haku Yowane; Dell's ex.

Haku looked up, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw me, "Oh, wow; if it isn't Len Kagamine himself in the flesh-"

"Haku, I get it," I sighed, taking out my headphones, "Where's the principal's office?"

"In trouble already, you little deliquent?" She asked, a slight smile on her lips, "You do realise school hasn't even started. Dell must be ashamed."

"Why would he be?" I grumbled, "It's not like he's my dad or anything."

She shrugged, "So, you're going to be attending Crypton Academy, eh? How long?"

"Two months," I said.

"Ah, sixty-two days of fangirls; you looking forward to it?" Haku asked cheekily.

"Not at all," I said, "Now, can you please just point me to the principal's office?"

"Aww, your no fun, Lenny-kins," She teased, poking my nose playfully, "Mr. Shion's office is just down there."

She gestured to the right corridor leading off the front office and I nodded, thankful she wasn't dragging this out, heading down past the other offices.

I turned up the stairs, before stopping in my tracks. In front of me were two, large, wooden doors, with huge, brass knockers. What was with this principal? I picked up the knocker and slammed it down.

"Come in!" A voice sang inside. Pushing open the door, I stepped inside, my jaw almost falling off its hinges. Behind the desk sat a blue-haired man with a long scarf on; in the middle of the hottest week in autumn ever recorded. He had a big grin on his face and was holding two ice-cream cones.

What my jaw nearly fell off was the posters in the room. They were all over a big-chested, brown-haired woman in red, who was posing. This was... disturbing.

The man licked up his ice-creams, kicking a chair towards me where I stood in the door.

"Please! Have a seat!"

_Where am I and how do I get back to earth? _Was all I could think. I took the seat, walking forwards and sitting down sheepishly.

"Um..." I started, "I'm Len Kagamine... And... uh..."

"I know who you are!" The man said cheerfully, sitting down in his office chair and spinning happily, "My kids absolutely love you!"

_Poor kids._

"Uh, thanks," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "And you're Mr. Shion?"

"Call me Kaito!" He said happily, leaning forwards, "Ice-cream?"

The ice-cream dripped down his hand and he smiled at me.

"I'll pass," I said and he lent back, feet on the desk.

"So, Len-san." Kaito said, "I've issued one of our top students to see you around the school for your first week here, just to make sure you get used to the place. It is quite big, you know. Also, you know, if you need anything, you can just come to me."

"Uh, thanks," I said, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

"I'm sure you and Akita will get along just smashingly," Kaito enthused, "She's quite the character; quite a stickler for the rules, you know. She can be a little sharp and blunt, but she's quite down-to-earth when you get to know her!"

Akita? Dammit, where did I know that name from?

"When's she getting here?" I asked.

"Oh, at about half past," Kaito smiled. _Then why did he ask me to be here by seven..._

"Um, out of curiosity, why do you request I be here half an hour earlier?" I asked.

"Well..." The man said, "I need your autograph for my family you see... Two for my daughters, one for my ex-wife, three for my cousins, one for my mother..."

The list continued as he told me their names and made me sign the papers; he was right, it did take about half an hour.

When I finally finished, my hand was all cramped and I shook it, leaning back in my chair.

"Thank you so much!" He said happily, "I'm sure they'll all love it!"

"Heh, yeah, happy to help," I said, as the doors eased open.

"Shion-sensei, I'm here, just as you requested-" The girl in the doorway froze as we made eye-contact. Even with her hair cleaned up and dressed in neat school uniform, I could tell it was the girl from the alley. Ah, that's where I knew the name Akita.

"Ah good!" Kaito said, spinning in his chair again, "This here is Len Kagamine, the new student you'll be showing around!"

"I know who he is," Akita said through gritted teeth.

"Len-san, meet Rin Akita."

[...]

Rin didn't talk much, or make much eye-contact. The madman wasn't kidding about her being a bit blunt, as when she did talk, it was quite rude. In fact, some key words to describe her would be 'cold' and 'rude' and 'hostile'.

"This is the arts building," She said, gesturing to a two-storey, red-brick building. It's many glass windows looked out over the entire school. She started up the stairs and I promptly followed.

Pushing through the door, I found the place to be pretty open. We were on the top floor, where most of the windows were. Easels and stations were cluttered everywhere, with half-made pots, plates needed to be painted, and half-finished paintings.

"We're taught visual art classes by Megurine-sensei," Rin explained, "Kamui-sensei teaches us music and other arts, such as drama and dancing."

Rin led me downstairs to the music theatre, with a stage down the left hall. Down the right were lots of practise studios, a dance rehearsal hall and a band room.

"If you're interested, I'm sure you can put on private concerts at break times," She sneered, before leading me outside.

"Do you have a problem with me?" I asked.

She shot me a look, "What do you mean?"

"You keep sneering at me, or saying not-too-pleasant things about my music; so, do you have a problem with me?" I asked.

"So what if I do?" She asked, "Am I not allowed to dislike your music?"

I stood there for a for moments, "I dunno."

"Ugh," She said, before turning on her heel, "Hurry up, Kagamine! Next stop is the sports hall!"

I hurried, jogging before slowing when I reached her side. We walked across the other buildings in which academic classes - like algebra and language - were taken, and arrived at the large gym, which was centred in front of the tennis court. We entered, to find two early risers playing a game of basketball, their shoes squeaking as they dribbled.

"We do basketball, netball, ping pong and all sorts of other sports in here," She explained, "After school, it's used a karate dojo, and in the mornings can be used for anything you please. Football and soccer is to be played on the top oval, which is just past the tennis court which is, obviously, used for tennis."

"I get it," I said, "I'm not really interested in sport anyway."

"Of course you're not," Rin said, "Because sweaty pits are so above you."

I glared at her, but said nothing, as she turned on her heel and led me across the way. She showed me the science lab and classes A to C. The girl certainly knew her way around.

"So!" She said, turning to me. I almost bumped into her, "You should know your way around by now; any questions? Good, coz I don't care."

She turned, going to walk off.

"You're supposed to be keeping me company for the rest of the week." I said, before adding snidely, "Lucky you."

"Oh good," She said sarcastically, "A week with you!"

She mumbled as she turned her back on me, "I can't wait for it to be over."

[...]

Apparently, all the students at Crypton can choose their own lessons and schedule, meaning you don't have to do subjects you dislike. I'd chosen mostly music and art lessons, also throwing in some science, algebra and language on the side, but staying as far away from physical ed as possible. It wasn't really my thing.

It's not like I'm not athletic or anything, I'm pretty good at sports, I just don't like it. Every time I'd tried to play just a friendly game of something, I'd have millions of girls watching and staring at me. Swimming was the worst; if I swam with a top on, they complained, if I swam _shirtless _they wouldn't shut up.

The bell had gone half an hour ago, and, because I chose different classes to Akita, she didn't have to hang around me. She'd cancelled all her music lessons for the next two months in order to stay away from me, apparently.

As I walked into the music room, there were millions of whispers and lots of pointing and staring. The purple-haired man out the front of the room had his long hair swept up, falling down at the sides.

"Ah, Len," He said warmly, "Kaito told me you would be attending quite a few of my classes. I suppose it's only to be expected from someone who centres their career and life around music, yes?"

I nodded.

"Take a seat-"

"Sit next to me, Len-sama!"

"NO! ME!"

"PLEASE ME LEN-SAMA!"

I shuffled past the girls, sitting next to a white-haired boy who was looking sheepishly down at his phone. He gave me a glance with his mismatched eyes, one blue and one green, before looking back down at his phone.

"Oh, yes, my name is Gakupo Kamui, just in case you were wondering, Len." The purple-haired man smiled, "Now, as you all know, in two months time, we'll be holding the mid-year school concert, and anyone can participate."

One of the girl's hands shot up, "Can Len-sama sing at the concert?!"

"If Len feels comfortable doing so-"

"He should sing 'Spice!'" One of the girls suggested, and many of the other girls agreed, but some said I should sing 'Mr. Taxi'.

I sighed, edging down in my chair. The white-haired boy looked at me with mild curiosity, before going back to his phone, texting someone rapidly.

"Who're you texting?" I asked curiously.

"No-one," The boy sighed, "Well, not really. She won't reply."

"Class! Please control yourselves!" Kamui said angrily, "Now, who here would like to sign up for the mid-year concert?"

Lots of hands shot up instantly, and I raised mine slowly, not quite sure if I DID want to sign up.

"Okay," Kamui smiled, "Auditions are at lunch today; only the top twenty students will be performing at the mid-year concert, and I expect you all to practise over the next two months. Now, we'll be studying musical theory today..."

[...]

By the end of the lesson, I was being pressured to sing by everyone except for the white-haired boy beside me, who was still bothering the girl with text messages.

"Please Len-sama!" The girls begged. I sighed, giving up and letting them drag me to the front of the room. Soon, a round of chants began.

"Spice, spice, spice, spice!" It went, over and over. One of the girls plugged their Ipod into the speakers, and the bouncy tune began. The girls fussed over a microphone, before thrusting it into my hands.

I put on a smile, lifting the microphone to my mouth and began to sing. The girls screamed, as if they were getting their own, private concert from me. Well, they kind of were. I let myself become lost in the music; even though I hated the song almost as much as I hated Teto's fangirling.

By the time the second chorus came, I didn't even care about the lyrics, "Despite it all, I still don't know what love is. I only guess that it could be good for me; but if it's good, then why is it painful? So without, I know I'm better off."

Some of the girls were shrieking so loudly I could barely hear the music, but I'd had to sing the song so many times, I already knew it off by heart without the music. As the song ended, the girls broke into applause, yelling and screaming loudly.

I smiled, bowing politely.

Kamui clapped from the corner, where he'd been watching and listening, "Your voice is amazing, Len, but I don't think you should sing _that _at the concert."

"Aww!" All the girls went.

"At the concert?" I asked.

"Well, you did put your hand up and you _are _Len Kagamine; of course you'll be performing." Kamui smiled, "I'll be seeing you on Tuesdays and Thursdays for rehearsals."

[...]

"Enjoy your fangirls?" Came the snide remark as I exited the music building. Akita was leaning against the wall, her blonde hair clipped back as usual, books tucked under her arm.

"Why would I _enjoy _them?" I asked, rolling my eyes and following her through the yard, towards the large tree by the entrance.

"Why wouldn't you? All the attention, all the excited screams; all the instant popularity." She said, "Everyone loving you for something as simple as your voice."

She was looking at her feet now, her thoughts obviously drifting.

"You never showed me the cafeteria," I said, "And I'm starved."

She looked up at me, "Whatever."

She led me down towards the main academic halls, leading me past the science lab and into the cafeteria. I took a tray, ordering some food, before walking with her to one of the tables. She decided to sit in the far corner away from everyone, and, having no choice in the matter, I followed her and sat, laying my tray down.

She took an orange from her bag, jamming her thumb into it and peeling away the skin. I twirled the noodles I'd ordered around my fork, before eating them. She took out a book, crossing one leg over the other and reading whilst sucking on a piece of orange.

"You know," I said, "If we're going to be stuck with each other for the entire week, we might as well try and be friends."

"I can put up with you," She shrugged, "As long as you don't talk too much."

I shrugged, taking more noodles.

"Len-sama!" Several girls yelled, "Len-sama! Leave Akita alone and come sit with us!"

I ignored them, taking out my headphones and putting them in my ears, turning up the volume to 'Perfect Day'. Rin gave me a look, before returning to reading her book. Several girls were humming 'Spice!' as they passed us, which only made me turn up the volume more. After finishing my noodles, I sunk into my seat and stared the ceiling, my arms folded over my chest.

"Just go with them," Rin said, laying down her book, "I won't tell Shion-sensei, honestly, I don't care. Just go."

"You say that as if I _want _to go with them," I said, "Which I don't."

"You're... impossible..." She sighed, "Well, they're pestering me too, least you can block them out with your music."

"Sorry, can't hear you, listening to music," I smirked.

She ripped one of the head pieces from my ear and I cringed.

"Thanks," She smiled, putting the earphone in her ear and looking at me with mild shock, "This isn't your music."

"Why would I listen to my own music?" I said angrily, "Jeez! I don't _have _to be self-obsessed, do I?"

I ripped the ear piece from her ear, standing up and shoving the Ipod in my pocket and storming off.

"LEN-SAMA!" All the girls shrieked, but I pushed past them all, making my way out to the courtyard.

**Within FOUR HOURS of uploading, I had two readers... That... Is amazing... *starts sobbing* I love you AAAAAALL! *grabs all readers and bear hugs* **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I quickly wrote it, as I saw how popular chapter one already was :3**

**I'll update CiRCuS MoNSTeR soon, pinky swear! It's just this one's going to be longer and I'm loving writing it! :D **

**Piko: You're overworking me, dammit, stop making me a main character!**

**Me: *squidges cheeks* But your so adoooorable! :3**

**Piko: *death glares***

**Please review, fave and follow! Check out my other series if you have time :3**


	3. Chapter 3 - Dolls

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, faves and follows! Um, running out of things to write in the author notes... Heh... **

**Shall I just get on with it? :3**

I sat on the stairs leading up the music room, just leaning against the step above me and listening to music. I didn't really feel bad about leaving Akita; she hadn't exactly been the kindest towards me, anyway.

"Isn't someone supposed to be showing you around?" A voice asked. I looked up to see the white-haired boy with mis-matched eyes. He wasn't on his phone, instead he just looked at me.

"Rin Akita is," I said, "But we had an argument."

The guy smirked, "You lasted this long with her? She's bitter towards everyone, and she really hates all things Kagamine, 'specially you. Don't know why, she just does. She's always hated most celebrities, but you get the majority of her hatred."

"Of course I do," I sighed, pulling out my ear phones, "I never got your name."

"Name's Utatane. Piko Utatane." The boy said, "I'm signed up mostly for music and technology classes."

"Well, I know you already know, but I'm Len Kagamine," I smiled wryly. He smiled back.

"Yeah, kinda hard not to know you." Piko said, falling back on the stair next to me, "So you just left Akita in the cafeteria to be swarmed by fangirls?"

I sighed, "Yeah, yeah, it was a pretty low move, I know."

"Not really," Piko said, "Look, one thing you should know about Akita; she's a total social outcast. She _chooses _to be. The moment she turned up, the most popular girl in school attempted to become friends with her, but she flat-out refused."

"So, to sum it up, she's completely bitter, sour, cold-shouldered and rude?" I said, "Well, I already knew that much."

"Apparently not," Piko said, and I gave him a look.

"Explain." I insisted.

"Well, I dunno what to think of it, but some people say that Akita can actually be really kind and fun; well, that was the rumour her boyfriend spread before he died." Piko said, "He was hit by a car two years back."

I felt a cold go through me; her boyfriend _died_? No wonder the girl was so hostile. I stood.

"I need to go apologise," I said.

Piko's eyebrows rose, "Why? Didn't she offend _you_?"

"Yeah, but..." I sighed, "I don't know. I just didn't think she had a tough life; I just assumed she was a spoilt brat."

Piko shrugged, "Whatever, I'm heading over to technology, see you round, Kagamine."

Piko walked off and I headed back to the cafeteria. I noticed swarms of angry girls circling Akita.

"How DARE you offend Kagamine-sama?!" One of them shrieked, "You're nothing compared to him! You're just a nerd who thinks she can do anything because her daddy's the police chief!"

"Ugh, get your painted nails off of me." I heard Akita grumble in the crowd. I pushed past the girls, causing them to look at me strangely.

"Sorry, just had to go to the bathroom." I said sheepishly, offering a fake smile to the girls. Some of them faltered in where they were going to hit Akita. I sat on my chair, "Now, who wants autographs?"

"Me!" The girls all screamed, grabbing napkins and homework pages - anything they could get their hands on really - thrusting the paper to me where I scribbled my signature quickly. Akita went to go and leave.

"Akita!" I called, "You have to walk me to class, remember?"

Some of the girls death glared at her, but most of them were too busy fangirling over their signed napkins.

"Whatever," She sighed, crossing her arms over her small chest, blowing a yellow bang out of her eyes lazily. I finished signing the last few items as the bell rang, and the girls all groaned as I jumped over the table and fell in line with Rin's steps.

"I thought you said you don't like fangirls," Akita pointed out.

"I don't," I sighed, "I just thought I owed it to you; after all, you have been showing me around, despite absolutely hating my guts."

"It's for Shion-sensei." Akita said bluntly.

"Still," I shrugged, "I owe it to you. If you weren't standing there, pulsing dark thoughts, the girls would've squished me the moment I entered the cafeteria."

A small smile twinged at the side of her lips, but disappeared instantly, as she gave me an attempted death glare that wasn't nearly as scary as her other glares.

"Stop trying to befriend me, Kagamine," She said, as we headed down the halls. I had an algebra class, so I followed her all the way to the maths class.

"Why the hell are you still following me?" She growled, turning to me.

"I've got algebra too," I smiled, pushing through the door. A green-haired, male teacher sat on the table with his loose, black tie falling loosely.

"Ah, Kagamine," The teacher smiled, "Welcome to algebra class. I'm Mr. Megpoid. Take a seat where ever you please."

It was a good call signing up for algebra; as most of the students were guys, or girls much too envolved in their work to notice me. Anti-fangirl central. I took my seat at the front of the class, and Akita sat a few seats behind me, a sleeping, pink-haired boy in between us.

Megpoid began the lesson, writing up equations on the black board and throwing questions around the room. Half the time, Akita's hand was the first to shoot up, as she blurted out answers that no-one else was anywhere near getting.

I was okay, but I usually got the answer five minutes after Akita, having to slowly go through the procedures whereas she just seemed to know it. Megpoid decided we ought to have a test in two days time, and most of the class groaned. The bell went and everyone clammered out of the class, heading to their next class.

"Please tell me you don't have language studies," Akita begged as we walked down the halls. I unfolded my schedule.

"I've got a study period," I explained.

"Then you should study for the algebra exam," Akita said, "It's going to be pretty hard."

"I'll study at home," I shrugged, "Gives me an excuse to stay away from my manager."

Akita's eyebrow quirked, but she said nothing, "K, so what _are _you going to do?"

She stopped, hands on her hips, giving me a look.

"I dunno," I shrugged, "I could go read in the library, I suppose."

"Library is only open after school," She explained pointedly.

I thought for a few seconds, before it occured to me, "Are the music practise rooms free during all periods?"

"Yeah," She said, "What, planning on practising for the mid-year concert?"

I shrugged, "I need to bring my piano playing up to scratch."

She sighed, "Fine, but it's your fault if I'm late to class."

[...]

Rin walked me to the music rooms, shoving open an empty practise room with a beautiful, old, black piano. I pushed up the lid slowly, looking at the beautiful keys. People had scribbled the notes on them, and I grimaced.

Sitting on the stool, I looked to see Akita was leaning against the wall.

"You're late for class, you realise." I said.

"I'm just curious to see as how you're going to play 'Spice!' on the piano," She smirked.

"One, I hate that song," I said, "Two, that's impossible."

I cracked my knuckles, placing my fingers on the keys, arched up. I pushed down the heavy keys, letting the notes ring out as my fingers danced their way down the piano. I played 'Mad World', closing my eyes and letting the music flow.

Rin stood there quietly, as she began singing it under her breath. I played in a low key, and it suited her soft voice. As I played the last chord, I looked at her.

"Why don't you sing stuff like that?" She asked.

"I'm not allowed to," I said simply.

"That's ridiculous," She sighed, "If you like that sort of music, you should be allowed to listen to it."

I shrugged, "You should get going back to class-"

She cut me off by rummaging through her bag, pulling out a sheet of music, "Can you play this?"

I looked at the sheet of paper, settling it in front of me. I studied it for a few moments before beginning to play. It was more difficult than Mad World, but fun to play none the less. Rin surprised me by starting to sing.

Her voice went perfectly with the melody I was playing. I'd never heard the song before. As I finished the song, Rin exhaled.

"Wow, that turned out pretty well," She said, taking the music sheet from the piano.

"What's it called?" I asked.

"I wrote it, so you won't find it online or anything," Rin said, stuffing the sheet into her bag.

"I don't care; just tell me what it's called." I rolled my eyes.

"If you _must _know, it's called 'Dolls'." She rolled her eyes back at me, but she couldn't hide the pride in her eyes.

"It's a very nice song, your voice suits it," I smiled, before beginning to play whatever song randomly came into my mind. If Rin knew it, she sang along, otherwise she did nothing.

Eventually, the bell rang and Rin groaned.

"Oh god, I missed an entire lesson," She said, before snapping at me, "It's your fault."

"How's it _my _fault?" I asked, "You could've left anytime, I wasn't keeping you here."

She said nothing, pursuing her lips stubbornly. I sighed, lowering the lid to the piano gently, "Whatever, I'll take the blame."

"No." She said quietly, "I ought to take the blame, you're right. It's dishonest if I let you take the blame."

I shrugged, "And we both know you never would've skipped a class if it weren't for me."

"Can we just not argue over this?" She snapped.

"Fine, whatever." I said, raising my hands defensively, as she stormed off ahead of me. I sighed, looking down at my schedule, before making my way up the art room.

[...]

I sat on the stairs outside the art room two hours later, just glancing over at the courtyard. With a pencil and eraser in hand, I was slowly sketching an eye, with bangs slowly falling into it.

"Hey! Kagamine!" A voice yelled. I leant over, looking down and seeing Akita yelling at me from below, "I have to walk you out the gates!"

"I don't see why!" I yelled back, making the lines around the eye smoother and the eyelashes thicker. I ignored her, continuing with my drawing until something hit me in the head.

"Ow!" I said, looking down at the orange that had bounced off my forehead. I peered down to see Akita with more oranges in her hands, ready to throw.

"Okay, okay, fine, jeez," I mumbled, shoving my sketchbook and pencil into my bag. Megurine had given us the homework to draw a portrait of anyone - fictional or non-fictional - by Friday. So I was just drawing whatever came into my mind.

I hurried down the stairs and Akita grabbed my sleeve's cuff, dragging me.

"Hey!" I protested. She let go when we got outside the gates, where Dell placed his hands on my shoulders, causing me to jump slightly.

"Wait, I thought I was taking the bus?" I said, turning to face Dell, who was a good head taller than me.

"Kasane doesn't trust you," Dell grinned.

"She shouldn't trust your driving either," I grumbled as I climbed into the passenger seat, closing the door. Dell pulled out, speeding down the street.

"What a pretty girl," Dell said absent-mindedly.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew her," I told him.

Dell shrugged, puffing on his cigarette, "What's her name?"

"Rin Akita," I mumbled, taking my Ipod from my pocket.

"C'mon Len, don't block me out, why're you so embarrassed to talk about her?" Dell asked, snatching my Ipod from my hands.

I sighed, "I just dislike her, okay?"

"Why?"

"Because she's rude, arrogant, selfish, cold, obnoxious and bitter," I said, snatching my Ipod back from Dell's hands.

"Oh, yeah, Len," Dell said, "That choir boy you met in Britain got a big break."

I looked up, "Oliver?"

"Yeah, that's his name," Dell said, nodding, puffing smoke rings out the window, "Apparently he's going to be performing at a concert soon."

"Little Ollie, all grown up," I smiled to myself, "I haven't seen the boy in two years; wonder how he's fairing."

Dell shrugged, "Took him two years to get a break, took you two years to become the most famous man on the planet. He's definitely not fairing as well as you, for sure."

Two years back, on a trip to Britain to attend a special music academy, I met a clumsy blind boy, who had a beautiful voice when it came to singing. We both went for an audition for a CD contract, and I only narrowly beat him. We'd skyped a few times, but besides that, we never really made an effort to stay in contact. I was busy with concerts and business, and Oliver was busy with auditions.

"He would be if he'd won." I said.

"I doubt it," Dell said, "People get a different feeling from you two. For Oliver, they feel like he's a young, blind kid that they have to love to be sympathetic, for you-"

"They feel as if I'm a dancing shota that takes advantage of women, and that somehow boosts my popularity," I sighed, glancing out at the city, "You know, Oliver has way more raw talent than me; I climbed to the top with my looks."

Dell shrugged, "Either way, I'm glad I'm your bodyguard, Len. It's nice having someone like you around, almost like a you're a disfunctional, overly popular son."

Dell smiled at me, biting down so his cigarette didn't fall out of his mouth.

"Oh, yeah," I said, remembering how Haku was the receptionist, "Haku's the receptionist."

Dell spluttered, "What?!"

"Yeah," I said, "And she still calls me Lenny-kins."

Dell smirked, before singing, "Lenny-kins!"

"Oh shut it," I said, shoving him playfully as we turned a corner. I put my headphones in, scanning down the list.

I selected 'Once Upon A December' and leant against the back of the seat. Minutes later, Dell pulled up at the curb and we climbed out. We headed up to our room. The moment I entered, Teto knocked me over like a tornado of pink.

"WELCOME HOME KAGAMINE-SAMA!" She screamed, and I sat up where I lay on the floor, rubbing my head. She was snuggling up to me and I felt very uncomfortable. She was what, eight years older than me?

"Um, yeah, good to be back," I said, standing up and stumbling past Teto.

"I missed you so much, Kagamine-sama," Teto said shyly, looking to her feet with her hands clamped behind her back, "I hope they were all nice to you, yes?"

"Uh, yeah," I nodded, throwing my bag onto the couch as I entered the living area, before pushing aside the bottles in the fridge to get to my milk.

"So, did you meet anyone interesting?" Teto pestered. God, she hovers.

"There was this one girl," Dell said cheekily.

"Yeah, Dell's ex," I retorted, pouring myself a glass. Dell gave me a glare and I smiled back, sitting in front of the TV. Teto began flooding Dell with questions, so I picked up my bag and used it as an opportunity to escape to my room, locking the door behind me.

I threw my bag aside, plugging my Ipod into the speakers on my bedside and ramping up the volume, taking out my sketchbook and sitting on my bed. I stared at the start of the girl's portrait, trying to picture the rest of her in my mind. I frowned, tapping my temple with my pencil. I began sketching a small nose and started on the other eye, leaving parts for her hair to drop in her eye.

"Kagamine-sama! Dinner!" I heard Teto call. I looked up, it'd been over four hours.

I sighed, "Man I draw slowly..."

Closing the sketchbook, I put it on my bedside with my pencil and eraser and headed into the living area.

"DINNER!" Teto said, holding out a platter of french bread. She was almost sparkling as she held it out.

"Eh..." I said, looking at the stacks of french bread, "Don't we have anything else?..."

Teto death glared at me and I shrank back. I gingerly took a bread stick and sat on the couch.

"So!" Teto clapped happily, "For the next two months, you will be doing a public appearance at a club every weekend!"

"Every weekend?" I groaned, "Can't I just have a break?-"

"It's only eight appearances in total, Kagamine-sama!" Teto pleaded, "Besides, if you don't make appearances and sing for a pay, this'll be more of a holiday."

I sighed, biting into the french bread. Dell had obviously passed, and was leaning against the couch, puffing smoke rings.

"Okay, so do I have to rehearse or anything?" I asked.

"You'll have rehearsals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning this Wednesday," Teto explained, "For a few of the concerts, local icons may be duetting with you, and for others, some international stars, like Hatsune, will be flying over for a week."

"Miku's coming too?" I asked.

"She's also doing a world tour at the moment," Teto explained, "She'll be at the start of your second month, and will also be staying for two months. So you'll both be in the same place for an entire month! Exciting, right?"

I shrugged, "I suppose. Who else is coming here for a performance?"

"Well, the new boy, Oliver, will be tagging along with you for a week, as he needs to become well-known; what better way to become well-known than to tag around with Len Kagamine and sing with him?" Teto asked, "His manager, Al, and I made agreements and so forth. He won't be going to school, but besides that, you're to be with him at all times."

Teto broke a bit off of her french bread and ate it, "Besides that, you'll be duetting with two locals."

I nodded, "And four solo performances?"

Teto nodded.

"Oh, yeah," I said, "I signed up for the mid-year concert at school; so I suppose it's nine concerts."

"A mid-year concert?" Teto asked, "At Crypton Academy?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I dunno what I'll be singing yet, but I have rehearsals on Tuesdays and Thursdays at lunch."

She smiled, then yawned, "Ah, I'm out of energy. Night, Kagamine-sama!"

I yawned, stretching back on the sofa.

"If you're tired, go to bed," Dell said gruffly, "I want to watch my programs."

"K, fine, jeez," I said, standing up, "I'll leave you alone to your Yowane fantasies."

Dell death glared at me and I smiled cheekily, before walking to my bedroom. I pulled my tie off, throwing it across the room before pulling off my shirt. I stretched, locking the door and sitting on my bed, looking over at the sketchbook.

I unzipped my jeans, throwing them into the pile and got dressed in my pyjama bottoms and began humming a tune. I flicked off the light switch and stretched, heading over to bed, still humming the tune.

_What's the tune again? _I asked myself as I got under the blankets, rolling over. I yawned.

"Ah, that's right." I smiled to myself. _Dolls_.

**Thanks for reading! :3 Reviews, faves and follows all appreciated heaps! I need OCs for this series; private message me with the following information for your OC; my five favourites will make appearances in chapters 10 +! **

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	4. Chapter 4 - Science Partners

**A/N: Thank you for the OC entries! I have quite a few followers now, and I'm eternally grateful to you all! Note that some OC entries may be tweaked a little to fit the storyboard, sorry if it ruins your image of them... Heh... And they'll be included later on, when Len and Rin are a bit closer. **

**I'll be announcing the winning OCs in chapter 10, so be patient! **

"Kagamine-sama! Wake up!" Teto yelled, knocking rapidly on my door.

In my sleep, I'd pushed my quilt off, and I was now lying with only a thin sheet on top of me, my face in the pillow. I pushed the pillow to my ears, trying to block out Teto's nagging. I grumbled into my pillow.

"Kagamine-sama, you have your first rehearsal today! Rise and shine!"

"You rise and shine," I mumbled, rolling over and messing up the sheet. She didn't hear me over her obnoxious knocking.

"KAGAMINE-SAMA!" She screeched.

"OH MY GOD, FINE!" I yelled, throwing the sheet onto the floor angrily. I rubbed my head, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing. I stomped over to my wardrobe, flinging it open and taking out a uniform, before slamming the door open.

Teto squealed, jumping as I went into the bathroom and closed the door. I sighed, leaning against the door. I'd been having a nice dream before she woke me up. Rubbing my eyes sleepily I pulled open the shower door, turning on the taps so steam filtered out.

"Are you okay, Kagamine-sama?" Teto asked at the door.

"I'm showering," I said firmly.

"I'll come back later!" Teto said chirply, bouncing off down the hall. I sighed, throwing my pyjama bottoms into the corner and slipping into the shower.

Ten minutes later I was sitting in the lounge, a towel draped around my shoulders, my uniform clinging to me. I wished Teto would stop staring at me...

Dell was sitting opposite me at the table, puffing slowly on his cigarette, deep in thought. I yawned, stretching back and sipping my banana-flavoured milk.

There wasn't really anything to say; we'd resolved to a pretty normal routine when it came to school life. Besides, Teto was the talkative one, and she was too busy staring. I finished off my milk, standing and fluffing up my hair with one hand in the towel.

"I'll be going," I said.

I put the towel away, put my hair up into a short ponytail and headed out the door and down the stairs of the hotel. Dell caught up to me as I waited by the curb. He went around and got the car from the parking lot nearby, before driving and picking me up.

He flicked on the radio, and wound down the windows, puffing on his cigarette.

_"And now a song from the world's latest young singer, Oliver!" _The radio said the second we turned it on. Dell turned it up a little bit. It was a different style than I'd expect from Oliver; nothing like the old choir songs he used to sing. It was pretty catchy as well.

_"And that was Oliver's new hit single, 'Addiction To Pain'! We're all looking forward to more songs by that young, talented boy. Now, as you've all heard, Len Kagamine is in town-"_

I turned the radio off instantly, not really wanting to hear the gossip about myself. Miku enjoyed listening to the gossip and giggling away at the stupid guesses the media makes.

"Never thought Oliver would sing a song like that," I said.

Dell shrugged, "The boy needed something like that to get popular. Once he's pretty popular, he can go back to his normal genre."

I sighed, "And I can't?"

"You've got so much lime light on you, that any changes will definitely be noticed," Dell said, "That, and Teto absolutely adores your rock slash pop star image."

"Oh yay," I said unenthusiastically.

[...]

The bell for lunch break rang crisp and clear, the students all bouncing eagerly, wanting to get out of the classroom as soon as they could.

"Class dismissed," Megurine said, so everyone bounced up, "Oh! And don't forget the rehearsals for the mid-year concert are today- AAH!"

Megurine had fallen over during the swarms of people racing out, and was now leaning against her desk, her pink hair falling on her glasses. She sighed.

"You okay, Megurine-sensei?" I asked, offering her a hand. She straightened her glasses, taking my hand and standing, smiling gratefully.

"Thanks, Len," She smiled, "You have fun at your rehearsal, okay?"

I nodded, before jogging down the stairs. Luckily for me, Akita was already standing by the stairs radiating hate, so the fangirls simply stood back away from us. I slipped into the barrier of hate and Akita walked me to Kamui's class.

It was literally like there was a barrier of five good metres that the fangirls couldn't step through. When we stopped, they stopped, before following us from the same distance. It was seriously creepy.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME!" I snapped, turning on my heel. The fangirls froze in their spots, before bowing.

"Sorry Kagamine-sama!" They all cried out. I rubbed my head.

"Jeez..." I said, as we pushed through into Kamui's class.

"Len-san! Akita!" A happy voice cried, as someone threw their arms around us. We both stiffened instantly.

"Ah, hello Shion-sensei," Akita said, obviously uncomfortable by his close presence.

"I didn't realise you got through, Akita! I'm so proud of you!" Kaito said, grabbing Rin's cheeks and squidging them. I smirked.

"Shion-sensei!" She said, "Please be dignified..."

"My sister is so lucky to have you as a daughter!" Kaito kept squidging her cheeks, "You're so cuuuute!"

Akita was the principal's cousin. Well, that made sense.

"Headmaster, PLEASE!" Rin said angrily, so Kaito stopped. Rin rubbed her cheeks sorely, "I didn't audition, so I won't be performing. I'm just here to walk Kagamine to class so he's not attacked by his fans."

"You're such a good girl!" Kaito said, reaching for her cheeks again.

She death glared at me as Kaito squidged her cheeks again. _Why aren't you doing anything to help me? _Her look clearly said.

"Uh, Shion-sensei," I said, "I mean, Kaito. I think you should let Akita- Rin go so she can study."

Kaito let go immediately and Rin gave me a 'my-lips-are-pursed-in-defiance-but-I'm-thankful' type of look.

"Well, you don't have to study!" Kaito said, reaching for my cheeks. Three seconds later, twenty odd girls had ran through the door and tackled him to the ground. Akita side-stepped as Kaito fell to the floor.

"YOU CAN'T TOUCH KAGAMINE-SAMA!" The girls yelled.

"It's like you have your own army..." Rin said quietly.

"I suppose," I said, "I didn't see the good side in having these girls 'til now."

Rin smiled slightly. Kamui entered and almost dropped his books.

"Girls! Get off of Shion-sensei right now!" Kamui said firmly. They jumped up, looking sheepish.

"No, no, it's okay," Kaito said, in a kind of daze, "I don't mind~"

"Pervert!" The girls shrieked, pulling down their skirts.

Kamui laughed, helping Kaito up.

"So," Kamui said, "Shion-sensei said he'd like to sit in on one rehearsal to get an idea of who's going to be performing. If you didn't audition and get through, you can stay, but stay on that side of the room."

The girls nodded, grabbing chairs and sitting.

"I'll be going," Rin yawned, "Bye, I suppose."

"No, no, no!" Kaito said, grabbing Rin's sleeve, "You can study here~"

"I don't want to," Rin said bluntly, "Not with those idiots over there."

She jabbed at the fangirl corner.

"Then you can sit with me!" Kaito said happily, jumping on Kamui's desk.

"You possess the emotional maturity of a five year old..." Rin sighed, but sat on the desk anyway. I took my place with the other eighteen performers at the desks. Wait; eighteen?

"Excuse me sir," One of the girls said, "There's only nineteen of us."

"I know," Kamui said, "Our twentieth performer hasn't arrived in the country yet, but when she does, she'll begin attending practises."

I only had one guess for who that was; Miku. Oh, wow, this school concert would be a hit; with me _and _Miku performing.

"So!" Kamui said, "You all ought to think of a song to sing for your performances. Does anyone have any ideas so far?"

A few hands rose, and Kamui asked the kids what they wanted to sing, and to do a run of it now. I leant against the wall, saying and doing nothing.

"Ah!" One of the girls cried, as she tripped over the desks. Everyone's attention turned to her.

"Kaiko! Are you okay, dear?" Kaito asked quickly. The blue haired girl had fallen over the long scarf she wore around her neck and was cringing. Everyone was crowded around her; even Akita had moved.

"My arm!" Kaiko squealed.

"What happened?" Someone asked.

"I tripped!" Kaiko said, tears forming in her eyes, "My arm hurts so much!"

"Someone call the ambulance!" Kaito ordered, a girl whipped out her phone and dialled the number.

[...]

All the students who had been in the music room stood on the curb outside the school, watching the ambulance drive off. One of the other teachers had gone with Kaiko, as Kaito had to stay at school.

"GET BETTER SOOOOON!" Kaito yelled, wiping his tears on his scarf.

"Shion-sensei!" Akita called, running up to Kaito, "I got your emergency ice-cream; just as you requested!"

Kaito blubbed, blowing his nose on his scarf (ew) and took the ice-cream, licking it. It turns out Kaiko was Kaito's daughter, no wonder he was being so over-the-top.

"She won't be able to perform at the mid-year concert," Kamui explained, "She'll miss all the rehearsals. Someone else will have to take her place."

"MY POOR KAIKO!" Kaito wailed dramatically.

"Kamui, sir," I said, "Are you going to hold another audition?"

Kamui shrugged, "I don't know, Len. It was hard to find nineteen students with talent alone and I doubt anyone knew will audition. I suppose I can put up a paper in the office and see if anyone new signs up. Now!"

Kamui turned to face everyone, "Lunch break is over, and you're all late for your next classes, so I believe you should all be heading off!"

"Yes, Kamui-sensei," The students droned, splitting up and heading back inside. As always, Akita had to walk me to my next lesson.

"What do you have?" She asked.

"Science," I said. She nodded and walked with me through the halls to the science lab. Because of our amazing luck to get stuck with each other, she had to take a seat next to me.

The teacher looked strangely familiar, with her brown bob. She turned, smacking a ruler down on the desk and leaning, causing everyone to jump. I was surprised by what she wore; a small, red jacket, wrap-around black bra (on display!), short, black skirt and long black boots. That, and she wore lots of red lipstick.

I looked around the room, noticing half the students were just boys who were staring at her.

"So," She said, "You thought you could show up late, eh, Rin?"

"I was seeing Kaiko-chan off to the hospital," Rin said.

Kaiko-CHAN? Did I hear correctly? Did Rin just use "-chan"?

"What about you, blondie?" She asked, pointing her ruler to me, a small smile playing on her lips, "You think you can arrive fashionably late in my class?"

"Oh please," Rin scoffed under her breath.

"I-" I began but the teacher simply winked.

"No matter! I'm a big fan, so I'll let it pass just this once, Kagamine-kun. My name's Meiko Sakine. Call me Meiko." My cheeks went red as her jacket.

"For a price~" She added, before getting up and turning to the blackboard, "Now, as you all know, the science fair will be coming up in two weeks time. Anyone can enter, and myself, Kaito and Megurine-chan will be judging. I expect better than lowly potato batteries and wire circuits; I expect things like... Oh, I don't know, be inventive."

Akita's hand shot up, "Excuse me, but, isn't the theme for this year's science fair to be eco friendly and green?"

"That's right~" Meiko smiled, winking at Rin, "Shouldn't expect any less from my star pupil." Rin flushed pink; she obviously seemed a little unnerved by the attention.

"So," Meiko said, smacking the ruler against the board to wake up the few boys half-sleeping half-drooling at the back of the room, "Some more information on this year's science fair. Not only is it 'save the planet' themed, but you'll also all be doing your projects in teams of two."

A few people began giving each other looks, trying to communicate and send the message 'partners?'.

"Not so fast," Meiko said, "_I'll _be choosing the partners."

Everyone groaned, even I did. It was always the same; teacher 'accidentally' pairs you with someone you argue with a lot in class, to help you 'settle your differences', etc, etc.

"Oi," Meiko said, "Okay, fine, everyone, write your names on a piece of paper and we'll put it in a hat. Luck of the draw; sound better?"

Everyone nodded, and began scrawling their names down on paper. Meiko took everyone's papers, making sure it was their name, before putting it in the hat. She jiggled the hat, mixing up the names before pulling a sheet out and reading it aloud. Whoever it was stood, before going to the next name called.

"Len Kagamine," She called and I stood, pushing my chair back. She pulled out another name, unfolding it and smiling, "Rin Akita."

Rin groaned, "No way! Draw again!"

"That's not fair," Someone else retorted, "If she gets a re-draw so do we-"

"No re-draws," Meiko said firmly, "Rin, you're with Len for this project. Period."

Rin huffed childishly, folding her arms over her small chest and pouting. It was kinda cute. Wait... Did I really just think that?... The bell went and we were on our way down the halls. I jogged to fall in step with her.

"So," I said, slightly pink from my thoughts, "What should we do?-"

"How about I study electricity by trying to get your hairs to stand on end with an electrical chock?" Rin asked sadistically, so I shut up. And I'd been saying she was CUTE a few seconds ago!

How could I be so wrong?

"Hey!" I said, as she ran off down the halls. I slowed, as she turned the corner and pushed outside, burying her face in her arm. What the hell is wrong with this girl?

"Kagamine-sama!" Some fangirls cried out to me, trying to grab onto me. I swatted away their hands.

"I'm not in the mood, okay!" I yelled, before heading out the building in the direction Rin went. I stepped through the doors, shutting them behind me and looking around the courtyard. There was barely anyone in sight, as people were simply moving from one class to another.

"Akita?" I called, walking down through the courtyard. I heard a sob come from behind a garden bed. I turned, walking forward and seeing Akita curled up in a ball, leaning against the garden bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"That's a dumb question," She murmured.

"Sorry, I'm not good with intelligent things. That's obviously the reason we don't get along." I sighed, sitting on the wall beside her. She flushed a bit, before burying her face in her arms and hiccuping.

"So, are you going to tell me what I did this time?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I'm not telling you anything, just go away."

"No," I said, "I mean, seriously, no. I can't. If I do, the fangirls will hug me to death."

"Then sit there like the idiot you are," She growled, turning her head away from me. So I did. I sat there, looking at the sky, occasionally scratching the side of my nose, or coughing or something. Just to let her know I was still there and I definitely wasn't leaving until I got an answer.

The bell rang, signalling I'd missed musical theory, and that Akita had missed whatever class she had.

"You missed a class," I said, "Man, you're stubborn."

"I had a study period," She mumbled quietly.

"Ha! You talked to me!" I said triumphantly.

"You're such an immature brat..." She said, "You don't give a hell about anyone besides yourself..."

"Not true," I denied.

"When was the last time you called your mum?" Rin asked me, her red, tear-stained eyes turning to me, completely emotionless.

I felt the heat rising under my collar, "Don't talk about my mum."

"Haven't contacted her in years, I suppose," Rin said, "You probably stopped caring when you became famous. Same with your father-"

"Shut up!" I said angrily.

"It's true, admit it, you haven't spoken or seen your mum in years." She said. I felt my cheeks getting hotter.

"Yeah! I haven't!-"

"Because you're a cold, heartless bastard," She said, still with the same emotionless voice.

I felt tears stinging at my eyes, "IT'S BECAUSE SHE'S DEAD!"

Rin's eyes softened as I looked away.

"I don't even see why I'm trying to be your friend," I said, "You're just a stubborn brat who thinks she's knows everything about people, when she doesn't even talk to them."

With that, I turned, walking off. And Akita said nothing, staying in her ball by the garden bed, wrapped up in her own world.

[...]

"I request someone else to show me around for the rest of the week," I said the moment I entered Kaito's office. Before stopping and sighing.

Kaito was hunched in the corner of his office, rocking back and forth with a pile of soggy tissues by his side, as well as a pot of ice-cream which he ate out with using a... fork? What?

"Len-san!" Kaito wailed, "They haven't called! I think she's deeeeeead!"

I rolled my eyes, "Shion-sensei, your daughter isn't dead-"

"How do you know?!" Kaito said, "HAVE THEY CALLED YOU?!"

"No..." I sighed, before looking up. _OH MY GOD, THE POSTERS ARE MEIKO_.

"THEN HOW DO YOU KNOOOOOOW!" Kaito wailed, before turning to his ice-cream and shoving it in his mouth between sobs.

"I don't-"

"THEN WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!"

"I'm trying to reassure you-"

"I'LL BE REASSURED WHEN THEY CALL-"

"MAN UP AND DO YOUR JOB, SHION-SENSEI!"

Kaito blinked a few times, "M-m-m-man up?"

I sighed, "Look, I know you're upset about your daughter, but someone can't _die _from hurting their arm. Worst possibility is that it's broken-"

Kaito wailed again, "MY POOR KAAAAAIKO!"

I sighed, "Shall I just leave a memo with Haku?"

Kaito stopped wailing, looking at me with an usually serious expression, "I'm sorry, Len-san. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I'd like to request someone else to show me around," I said, "Akita and I have been arguing far too much over the past two days, and I think I'd fair a lot better with someone else."

"Hmm," Kaito said, getting up from his corner of mushy tissues and ice-cream pots, walking over to his desk and pulling out some files, "I suppose there's a few other students who could show you around-"

"Look, sir," I said, "I don't care if they're at the top of their class, or failing miserably, I'd just like someone who I'll get along with to show me around."

Kaito looked up at me, before sighing, "Anyone you have in mind?"

I thought for a few moments, "I had a conversation with a guy called Piko Utatane before. Maybe he could show me around?"

Kaito nodded, "Okay then, for the rest of the week, Utatane will show you around."

[...]

TWO DAYS LATER

I sat in my chair during algebra, leaning casually against the back rest. Piko was sitting in on a desk next to me, texting on his phone with his new girlfriend, leaning on the table with his feet pushing the chair back and forth.

The girls were all crowded around us, two of them sat on the table next to me, fussing over my bangs and ponytail. Other girls crowded around me, leaning against the window or sitting beside my chair, or just perching on the surrounding tables. The guys talked with Piko about computer class and how he'd made a new software program.

"You know, Kagamine-sama, I've always loved your ponytail," One of the girls sighed, her fingers playing in my hair, "It's so unique. Kind of sexy."

Her hand dropped, falling on the back of my chair as she lowered her mouth to my ear, "What am I kidding, it's dead sexy."

The girl, Lily I think her name was, wasn't like the others, she didn't harass me for autographs or anything, she was serious. I kind of liked that about her.

I turned to her, gazing at her, "How about we go out this weekend? Just us?"

She gasped slightly, "Of course, Kagamine-sama. I'd love to."

I smiled, giving her a slight peck on the cheek, causing the other girls to falter and whine. Out of the corner of my eye, in the reflection of the musty window, I saw Rin Akita, sitting at the back of the room, looking up over her book. Her reflected gaze met mine, before it lowered back to her book.

**Ending slightly influenced by 'Spice!', just thought I'd throw that out there! Len is such a bastard at the moment...**

**Len: You're making me like this!**

**Rin: *sits in corner quietly reading book***

**Len: Rin... I'm sorry...**

**Rin: I don't care. **

**Yeah, more details on Len's parents in the future! Thanks for reading; all reviews, faves and follows highly appreciated! And thanks once again for the awesome OCs! Quite a few are looking promising, and I think I may've already decided on one ;)**

**They'll know soon enough, hehehehe... Keep the OCs coming in private messages and reviews; whichever you prefer! :3**


	5. Chapter 5 - Bananas

**A/N: Chapter fiiiiiive! Thanks for the reviews, fave, follows; heck, I'll sum it up; thank you all for everything! Sorry for not updating CiRCuS MoNSTeR for a while, I'm debating how to finish it. I can promise you that the next chapter will be out soon. I'll be doing the Crimson War spin-off soon as well, I hope my Crimson War fans will go check it out! **

**Oh, yes, and because Len's being a total bastard (Len: YOU'RE MAKING ME LIKE THIS), I'll be writing this chapter from Rin's P.O.V. **

[...]

My eyes scanned the pages of the book in front of me, but I wasn't really reading. I wasn't taking in every word and getting lost in the knowledge or story, I was too busy trying to ignore his arrogance; and that's a pretty hard task, considering it pretty much flooded the entire room.

My eyes flicked up from my book; I couldn't help it, I wanted to see if the teacher was there yet, but instead I got an eye-full of his flirting. Ugh, so sickening. He was flirting with Lily, the school's slut.

_They're perfect for each other_, I thought snidely, before I noticed his reflecting gaze meeting mine; at least, where mine would be in the reflection. I flushed slightly, before lowering my gaze back to my novel.

_So much for hating fangirls, Kagamine. _

"Class!" A voice said, interrupting everyone's chatter. I lowered my book, dog-earing the page and closing it. The girls separated from Len and he literally winked at Lily.

I rapped my finger nails on the table, trying to ignore him. _Why am I even bothered by him? He's just an egotistical jerk, he's proved that over the last two days. _

It was true I felt a little bit bad about not apologising when he said his mother was dead, but he hadn't even given me the chance to apologise; he'd just gone ahead and requested for Utatane to be his guide.

And if he was thinking I'd approach him when he was acting like _this _he was sorely mistaken; if he thought I'd approach him _at all _he was mistaken. I was thankful he'd requested a new guide; I didn't have to hang around him.

My eyes drifted up, looking up at where he was sitting, slipping notes to Piko, who slipped them to Lily. Lily giggled, reading the note and scrawling something messily with a blue pen, before slipping it back to Piko, who passed it to Len.

_Why do I even care? _I asked myself, _Yeah WHY do I?_

"Akita, are you paying attention?" Megpoid asked, turning to face the class. I flushed slightly.

"Uh, sorry sir, I..." I said, before settling with, "Sorry."

Megpoid sighed, "You're performance has dropped lately, is there something bothering you?"

Basically everyone was staring at me now.

"Family stuff," I said.

"You'll have to make up time with supplementary classes at this rate," Megpoid said. I nodded.

"I'll stay after school if you want."

"It won't be necessary if you pay attention now," Megpoid pointed out, before turning back to the board. Lily sniggered, giving me a look, before taking the note from Piko and smiling. I tried to pay attention, jotting down notes for upcoming essays, trying to get things on which I would study about, but something about Lily's annoying, frequent giggle was stopping me from concentrating.

As the bell went, I shoved my notes and books into my bag, swinging it over my shoulder and running from the class before the fangirls attacked Len and blocked the path.

I slowed in the corridors, looking at my messy notes, that didn't make any sense at all. There were spots where the pencil had stabbed the paper; those were from times Lily almost let out a _shriek _from the notes.

"Hey, Akita," A voice said. I turned and saw the green-haired girl in my gym class. Mr. Megpoid's daughter.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Why'd Kagamine change his guide?" She asked.

"I dunno," I lied, "Must've gotten sick of me or something."

She gave me a look, "Did you guys fight or something?"

"So what if we did?" I asked, "We were never really friends, so it's no loss."

She shrugged, "Whatever, I suppose. I heard Piko's showing Kagamine around now."

"And?"

"And knowing Piko, Kagamine's in big trouble; do you know how much of an _idiot _Utatane is?" She asked, "I would know, I'm his ex and all."

"All boys are idiots," I said simply, stuffing my notes back in.

She shrugged, "My name's Gumi, by the way; your Rin Akita, yeah?"

"Oh wow, I'm getting famous, eh?" I said sarcastically.

"Happens when you let the most popular guy in school - heck - the _world _ditch you for someone else." Gumi said, "Well, I'm off to soccer practise, see you round, Akita."

Gumi left and I headed off to the cafeteria. Half-way there, a door opened and someone pulled me inside. I went to yell, but a hand clamped over my mouth. They shoved me into the wall and I almost fell.

"What do you think you're playing at, Akita?" The voice snapped. I turned. Oh, great. Lily and her gang; Cul and Ia.

"I dunno what you're talking about," I said, looking at her, "I'm not doing anything."

"Oh please," Lily said, "We all know that's not true. You keep on staring at Kagamine, don't deny it."

"Why the hell would I? I hate the guy, if you haven't noticed-"

Knuckles collided into my cheek and I stumbled back. Lily cracked her knuckles, smiling at me.

"What even gave you the impression I cared what you said?" Lily asked, "The fact is, I saw you looking at him. You're not allowed to do that, okay?"

"I'm kind of science partners with him," I said, "It's not like I have a choice-"

"Then you'll avoid looking and talking to him at all other times." Lily told me firmly, before shoving me into the wall, "And if you touch him, I'll break your arm-"

"I'd avoid touching him anyway." I said, "Jeez. You don't get to seem to get the message; I. Hate. Len. Kagamine. Okay?"

Lily scoffed, "Whatever. Oh, and just so you remember."

Her fist slammed into my nose and I winced, as the blood trickled down my top lip. Lily smirked, letting me go and turning on her heels, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Go be a nerd somewhere else, Akita."

I took a tissue from my bag, holding it to my nose as I exited the classroom. I sniffled into the tissue and headed to the cafeteria.

[...]

I sat in the table at the far end of the cafeteria, away from everyone. My nose had stopped bleeding, so I didn't have a tissue anymore. I sat, my knees up to my chest, reading my novel with an empty tray sitting in front of me.

I turned the page before looking up. The whole cafeteria had gone silent, because Shion-sensei was getting his lunch (he'd probably run out of ice-cream). I didn't see why everyone was so serious around him; he certainly wasn't serious.

Shion-sensei got a tub of ice-cream, before walking through the doors, and the chatter immediately started again.

As the bell went, I shoved my book in my bag and headed off down the hall.

"Hey, Akita!" A voice yelled. I quickened my pace, but already knew there was no point. Kagamine fell in step with me.

"Since we've both got science, I thought we could walk together-"

"I don't have to walk with you anymore, and I'd prefer not to." I snapped, hurrying. He kept up with me.

"Okay then, how about we just happen to both be walking to the same class at the same speed?" He grinned lopsidedly and I glared at him, before continuing to science.

I pushed through the door, making my way to my seat and slumping in it, staring out the window to avoid looking at Kagamine. He tapped his pencil on the side of the table to the beat of one of his songs, probably to annoy me.

"Would you stop that?" I snapped at him.

"Stop what?" He asked, smiling cheekily, stopping his pencil from flicking the desk. I ignored him, turning back to the window.

"Hello!" A cheery voice said, spinning through the door.

"Shion-sensei?" I asked.

"Meiko's on a hang-over, so I'll be taking class today~" Shion-sensei said happily. The boy who attended class just for Meiko's um... 'exposure' all groaned.

"So!" Shion-sensei said, sitting on the desk, "Get into your pairs and jot some ideas for your project! Also, from the standards Mei-chan's expecting, you won't be able to do it all at school, so you'll need to collaborate outside of the school grounds!"

Everyone moved around so they were next to their partners, taking out a piece of paper and jotting down notes on line paper.

"How about we make... A remote controlled banana?" Kagamine asked hopefully. I raised my eyebrows at him, saying nothing.

He snatched my pen from my fingers, ("Hey!") and jotted down 'remote-controlled banana' in his messy scrawl.

"Be serious," I told him. He smiled, turning the pen in his fingers.

"What are you talking about Akita? I am." He said as I snatched it from him.

"Think of something eco-friendly then." I told him.

"Okay then..." He said, "Ah! I know. Powdered banana."

"What?"

"Turning bananas into a sort of powder, and when you add water, they turn into a big bunch of bananas!" He said enthusiastically.

"I'm not even going to face palm. It's too stupid to be worth a face palm."

"It would solve so much - less stale bananas, less wasted food... It could stop world hunger!"

"It's stupid because it's impossible."

"But if it were possible-"

"But it's not."

"But-"

"It's not. Period."

"But-"

"Just shut up."

"Okay fine, no powdered bananas. How about... Self-peeling bananas?"

"NO BANANAS."

"Not even a nocturnal banana plant?"

"Plant?"

"Y'know, the bush thing bananas grow on."

"Bananas grow on trees, stupid."

"Oh. Well, I actually learnt something today."

"I learnt you're stupider than you look."

"You're smiling."

"Am not."

"Yes you are! Rinny-kins is smiling~"

"What does this even have to do with the project?"

"Everything."

"Nothing. Now be serious."

"It's good for the environment if you stop radiating hostility; your evilness kills flowers."

"What? Where the hell did you get that idea?"

"From here." Len tapped his forehead.

"But there's nothing in there." I said seriously, folding my arms over my chest.

"Ha ha, very funny." Len death glared (well, attempted to death glare) at me.

I shrugged, crossing out 'remote-controlled banana' from the list.

"I dunno," Len said, "Ooo, I know, I'll ask Piko to give me some ideas, he's smart."

"So am I." I retorted.

"Well..." Len began. I glared at him and he smiled.

"Okay, okay, well, what ideas do you have?" Len asked, becoming slightly more serious.

"Something solar-powered." I said.

"A solar-powered robot?" Len suggested. I looked at him and saw he was serious.

"You do realise that with the resources we have, that's basically impossible." I said.

"You do realise I'm rich, right?" Len smirked, "I can buy anything we need; oh don't give me that look. I'm the richest teenager and fifth richest man in the world, Rin. I can pay for everything."

I shrugged, writing down 'solar-powered robot' as a suggestion.

"It needs to be able to do something," I said. Len tapped his pen against his cheek in thought, biting his bottom lip. Biting his bottom lip? That's kinda cute... What the hell brain?

"I know!" Len said, "It can peel bananas!"

Okay. I take it back. The dude's a complete fool.

"The aim of the whole fair is to promote eco-friendly behaviour, not bananas... What is it with you and bananas anyway?" I asked.

"My mum used to make the best banana splits," Len said, "I used to love them when I was a kid. I'd spend hours clinging to her leg 'til she made me some."

He smiled sadly to himself, before turning his attention back to the paper, "Okay, okay, maybe it should be able to do chores or homework or something?"

"You're the embodiment of lazy, you know." I told him firmly. He shrugged.

"Maybe it could pick up rubbish then? Go around picking up rubbish with it's little hands or something, I dunno." Len suggested, doing robot motions.

"Some moron would kick it." I said simply, "For the hell of it. Besides, if we did that, we'd have to put in something that helps it detect rubbish; we don't have the time or brains for that."

"Hmm," Len said, "I suppose we'll just wait and see?"

[...]

As the bell rang for the final time that day, the students scurried from their classrooms, heading to their cars, bikes and buses. I took my time, putting my books in my bag as I stood in language class.

I put my bag over my shoulder and headed out into the corridors.

"Akita!" A voice yelled. I turned and saw the angry blonde, gold-eyed girl glaring at me down the hall.

"What?" I asked.

"Someone told me you smiled at Kagamine-sama," She said, grabbing a fistful of my shirt and slamming me into the wall.

"I didn't-" I started, but was cut off as a fist slammed into my nose, the blood instantly starting again.

"You calling Kagamine-sama a liar?" Lily asked. _Kagamine _told her? Of course he did, he's Len Kagamine. A-Class moron.

"God, he just thinks I smiled, I didn't-" Lily grabbed my hair and yanked it down. I let out a squeal as she almost ripped a clump of my hair off.

"What the hell do you want me to say?!" I asked.

"Nothing," Lily grinned, "I just want you to beg for mercy."

"Beg for mercy- AH, DAMMIT, STOP!" I yelled, as she ripped my hair harder. My hand shot out and grabbed her own hair, pulling.

"Little bitch," Lily spat, as Cul stepped forward and kicked me in the stomach. I fell over, landing on my knees. Cul grabbed my bag, throwing it down the hall, the books and pages going everywhere.

Lily's foot slammed into my head and I fell, only just supporting myself with my hands.

"You really are a pathetic little nerd, you know," Lily said, "If you ever thought for one second that Kagamine-sama saw you as anything - a friend, a lover, whatever - just know how sorely mistaken you were."

With that, the three girls walked off down the hall, towards the front exit. I got up on my feet, clutching my stomach in pain as a drop of blood fell from my lips. I grabbed my books and papers, shoving them into my bag and making my way to the front of the school.

[...]

Unfortunately for me, my house was too close for the bus to drive me too, but much too far to walk, so I took the bus to some other girl's driveway and just made my way home. She lived by the edges of the forest downtown, so I passed a lot of shops on my way.

It was about half past six when I got home; how I missed my bike. The small, yellow-bricked house was jammed between a small alley and a large, red-bricked shop. A motorbike sat in the alley, leaning against the house.

I pushed through the wooden door, entering the small living room.

"I'm home!" I yelled, letting my bag drop off my shoulder and placing it in the corner. There was no reply; the house remained quiet and still as always. I walked across the wooden floorboards, passed the old, leather couches and into the kitchen through the archway. The ugly, honey-coloured tiles contrasted with the white fridge, cabinets and window blind.

I pulled the blind open, letting the sunlight flood in as I pulled open the fridge and took out the orange juice, pouring a glass. I shoved the juice back in, picking up the glass and heading through the other archway into the dining room.

"Dad!" I yelled, "Anyone home?"

Still no reply. I set my orange juice down and headed into the back of the house, where the two bedrooms and study were. I poked my head into my dad's study. It was barely bigger than a closet, with a desk shoved in with a chair and two small bookcases. The computer was off, papers strewn over the keyboard.

I closed the door and turned to my father's bedroom.

"Dad?" I murmured, sticking my head in. A snore came from under the thin white sheets on the double bed. I smiled to myself, looking at the lump that was my father. He'd obviously tired himself out with work.

I closed the door softly, before heading to my own room. It was the same size as the study, with the bed against the wall and a wardrobe shoved down at the foot of it. I closed the door and pulled open the wardrobe, slipping the laptop out from underneath piles of folded clothes.

I lay the laptop on my bed, flipping it open and getting the internet up, going to the bookmark for one of my favourite animes' sites, clicking the download button for the latest episode. As my old laptop whirred, I slid from my bed and looked through my bookcase, which was jammed against the wall.

It was full of crime novels and manga; all having been read millions of times, with fading covers and flimsy pages. I pulled out one of the mangas, pushing my laptop aside and kneeling lazily on my knees, bent over to read the manga.

My laptop beeped half an hour later (yes, it really takes that long for a twenty-five minute video to download) and I looked up, being halfway through the manga and thoroughly obsessed.

"Rin-chan!" A call came. Ah, so dad was up.

"Yes, dad?"

"Dinner's ready!"

I folded the top of the page, closing the book and heading into the dining room. My father was still in his blue and white chequered pyjamas, his blonde haired touselled wildly. He walked barefooted, carrying two bowls of noodles.

He placed one in front of me, smiling before sitting with his own.

"How was school?" He asked, wrapping the noodles in his chopsticks and slurping them down.

"It was okay," I shrugged, twiling noodles on my own chopsticks.

"Okay?" My father inquired.

"Easy work, stupid people, the usual," I grumbled.

"You had science today, so I'm guessing that's the heart of it," He said.

I looked at him; what?

"Oh come on, Rin," He smiled, "I'm a police officer, I know everything. You've been paired with Len Kagamine. That, and Mrs. Sakine set out letters to every parent notifying them of the science partners."

I sighed, "Sakine-sensei is too obsessive over the science fair... Seriously..."

"Well, I expect you'll come out on top, Rinny-kins," Dad smiled, "You're a little genius after all."

I smiled as my dad ruffled my hair appreciatively over the table. I slurped down my noodles on my chopsticks.

"So, any ideas as for what you're doing?" Dad asked.

"Kagamine says we have to do a solar powered robot." I said simply, "He'll supply the resources, I'll supply the brains."

"A solar powered robot eh?" Dad whistled, "Wow, that's pretty amazing, Rinny-kins. What will it do?"

"No idea yet," I shrugged.

"Well, don't be afraid to ask for my help if you need it," Dad smiled.

"I was thinking more we'd go to his hotel room to build it," I said, stirring the noodles.

"You embarrassed about me?" Dad asked, feigning offence.

"No," I said, "I'm more embarrassed about the state of the house."

Dad sighed, "Well, we can live here happily, that's all we need."

"He'll judge me, spread rumours to Lily," I said, feeling my nose pain at the mention of her name.

Dad sighed, "Rin, why don't you just talk to me or Shion about your problems occasionally? We're both here for you, you know."

I nodded, "Oh yeah; when's mum coming home?"

Dad said nothing for a few moments, before sighing, "I dunno, Rinny-kins, I really just don't know."

**I loved writing their conversation! xD**

**Le plot thickens! Well, not really, coz it's not a plot, but whatever. **

**Len: So, I know we have to make the robot and all in the story, but can we make powdered bananas anyway? **

**Rin: I told you, idiot, it's NOT POSSIBLE.**

**Len: Oh... I thought you were acting...**

**Reviews, follows, faves, communities, private messages- EVERYTHING (except flamers) appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Frenemies

**A/N: As always, thank you! It's this kind of constant support that helps me write every chapter ! By the way, sorry for how long the last chapter took; I was drawing with Missiefish and uploading stuff to our dA (find the link in my profile if you dare). Still Rin's P.O.V.**

**Also, someone pointed out that I said Kaito was Miku's cousin (sorry, I write these chapters late and I'm so tired I forget xD) SO I'll be changing it to say that Avanna is Miku's cousin. Sorry... Heh... Everyone makes mistakes, eh? **

It was raining. The sky seemed to be crying as the rain bucketed down, patting off my windowsill. I was laying on my stomach, propped up on my elbows, watching anime as the rain thundered on the rooftop.

My dad was locked in his study comparing notes for various cases, as he usually did in afternoons and on weekends; that is, if he wasn't sleeping. It had been like this for about three months now, since mum just left unannounced. I didn't know if she and dad had fought or something, because dad didn't talk to me about those kind of things. He just talked about things I was interested in; like books and anime.

I'd never tell anyone I was an Otaku; I'd get teased even more.

As the ending credits rolled, I stretched, before a beep signalled I had a message. I checked my home email, before checking my school email.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: Science Fair**

**Soooooo... We ought to get together sometime this weekend to work on the project at some point. Time, place and details all up to you. **

I clicked reply, typing in:

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: re: Science Fair**

**I dunno; how 'bout your place now? Since I'm doing basically nothing.**

Three seconds later, it beeped in reply.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: re: re: Science Fair**

**Yeah, sure, whatever. Just send me your address and we'll pick you up. I'm obviously not allowed to give out my room number. Too many fan girls. **

I shrugged and sent him my address. Three moments later, I got a reply.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: Totally not science fair**

**K, I'll go with Dell to pick you up, since I'm also not allowed OUT alone. Good god, kill me now. **

I smiled to myself.

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: Oh, so funny, ha, I'm laughing so hard you can't hear it. **

**Okay then. /kills. **

Three seconds later:

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: I know, I'm just that awesome. **

**Not cool, man, not cool. See you in a bit.**

I closed the window and got up.

"Dad!" I called, getting up from the computer and walking into the hall.

"Yeah?" Dad called from the study.

"I'm going over to Kagamine's hotel room to work on the robot," I said, "I'll come home at eight."

"Okay."

I grabbed a bag, shoving my maths and technology books in, hoping they'd help me at some point. I took an umbrella, holding it as I stood outside, the rain pattering on the top. I was still in my school uniform; the white shirt, yellow ribbon and yellow skirt; as well as knee-high white socks.

Five minutes later, a black limo pulled up at the curb, the windows slightly down, smoke puffing out the driver's window. The passenger window rolled down. Kagamine was sitting in the front seat, a black hoodie pulled over his head, black earphones sitting in his ears, his hands buried in his pockets.

He pushed open the door, not seeming to care as the rain drenched his jacket got. He pulled open the door for me.

He looked at me expectantly so I lowered my umbrella and got in. Len closed the door for me and got in the front seat.

"So, your name is Rin Akita, right?" The silver-haired man in the front asked, his red eyes looking at me through the mirror. He puffed on the cigarette.

"Yeah." I said.

"Name's Dell Honne; I'm Len's bodyguard." The man offered a smile, before kicking the car into reverse. It jumped and I quickly slung my seatbelt on as Dell pulled into the street and sped down the road. I clung to the seat.

"Just close your eyes and focus on something else," Len whispered, "It helps."

I nodded, closing my eyes and focussing on the first thing that came into my head. My mum. Damn, no brain, no, stop. But I could see my mum's smile and twinkling blue eyes already. Her masses of blonde hair fell around her shoulders.

I cut off those thoughts and tried to think about anime, but we'd already pulled up at the hotel. Len was already climbing out the car and pulling open the door for me. I looked up at him and he offered me a smile, before leading me inside.

As he pulled open the door, something bright pink pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.

"KAGAMINE-SAMA!" The pink girl shrieked. Had one of his fangirls infiltrated his room?...

"Get off," Len mumbled, pushing the girl off. Her pink hair was in spirals, a smile plastered on her features.

She bowed respectfully, "Welcome home, Kagamine-sama~"

Len brushed her off, as he stalked down the hall.

"Sorry about that," Dell apologised, "Len's not really in a good mood today. I don't actually see why he invited someone over, honestly."

I shrugged, "I dunno either."

"Go talk to him or something," Dell said.

I walked off down the hall where Len had stalked off, seeing a door slammed shut just as I turned the corner.

"Oi, Shota," I called, rapping my knuckles on the door, "We gonna work on this or what?-"

I stopped, because I heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like crying. Why was he crying?

"Len?" I asked.

"What?" He replied.

"Are you... crying?"

He paused, "No. I'm just changing. Don't come in."

I stood by the door patiently, hearing the last few sobs die away, before Len opened the door, his eyes slightly red.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" He inquired, "You hate me, right?"

"Well..." I said, before sighing, "Look, I'm sorry for being so grumpy lately. My mum ran out on us a while back, and it's hard with my dad and I trying to scrape by on low income. He's so busy with his work, and my brother recently went to Paris and he's getting married and I'm afraid mum won't come back and that I'll never see her again."

I blurted it all out in a string of words and emotions. Len just stood there pokerfaced. Before, finally, he replied.

"Is that it?"

I looked at him, my eyes sharpening, "Is what it?"

"That all," Len said, "All that's pressuring you?"

"Well I'm sorry if it's not a good enough reason for you." I snapped. God, the nerve of this guy.

"That's not what I meant-"

"It sure sounded like you meant it."

He said nothing, dropping his gaze before letting the door swing open and turning. I watched him as he landed on his bed, taking a sketchbook from his bedside and flipping the page, sketching something down.

"This is hardly the time to be drawing."

"I'm planning, thank you very much," Len retorted, "I stayed up 'til one in the morning last night studying."

Guilt trip much? I didn't study at all...

"Better not be any bananas," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He smiled slightly. I walked in, standing next to him and looking at the design. The robot had two little eyes sticking on its head, as well as a grate across its mouth.

"It's kind of cute," I noted.

"Everything I draw ends up cute," Len sighed, "Every. Fricking. Thing."

I smiled, "What else do you draw?"

Len looked up at me before flipping the pages and showing me the other artwork he's done. I gaped. The pages were full of beautiful anime drawings, varying from characters I'd never seen to those who were a part of my favourite animes.

He was right, most of the characters had ended up looking cute, but some looked serious; they _all _looked amazing.

"Hey, is that Zero from Vampire Knight?" I laughed, giving him a look. He flushed.

"Shut up." He said, "I drew the dude before I realised it was from Shojo."

"You're an Otaku?" I asked.

"And?" He retorted.

"I'm just surprised, that's all," I said, sitting on the bed and taking the sketchbook, looking through it, "These are amazing!" I smiled broadly.

"You're smiling, Rinny-kins~" He teased, his light mood returning.

"So are you," I retorted, giving him a look.

"Oh no, what have you done?! Your smiling must be contagious." Len said, taking his phone from his pocket, "Yes, Len Kagamine here, I'd like to report an outbreak of smile-itis."

"Oh shut up." I said, giving him a gentle shove. He laughed, putting his phone away, before stealing back the sketch book. As he flipped the page over I couldn't help but frown.

"What was that?" I asked.

"What?" He asked.

"The picture just now," I pestered, reaching for the sketchbook, "Lemme see it."

He pushed me back, lifting the sketchbook away from me, "No way."

"Give me the damn book, Shota boy," I growled. He jumped off the bed, holding it away from me.

"Nope," He teased, before throwing open one of his drawers, slamming it shut and locking it, before stuffing the key down his shirt.

"You wanna see it, you gotta get the key yourself." Len told me firmly.

"Pervert!" I said, grabbing one of the pillows and throwing it at him. He shielded himself and laughed, before throwing it back at me. Fifteen minutes later, we were chaotically pegging pillows at each other, laughing our heads off. Exhausted, we stopped and I leant against the side of the bed, whereas he leant against the other.

"Rin?" Len asked.

"What, Shota boy?"

"Are we... you know... friends?"

"No."

"Okay then, no truce."

A pillow slammed into my head and I looked up, seeing Len kneeling on the bed to throw pillows at me. I grabbed the pillow and thwacked it into his face. The fight kicked off again, pillows slamming into our arms and faces with so much power it was bound to eventually leave a bruise. We were having too much fun to care though.

Before I knew it, the clock had ticked to seven o'clock, and Len's manager was calling us for dinner.

"Oh, you're still here?" She asked, "If I knew I would've made an extra bowl! So sorry!"

"It's okay," I smiled.

"You can have half of mine," Len offered, scooping out a big lump of noodles.

"Thanks," I smiled, as Len dropped the noodles into a bowl and handed it to me. The four of us sat around the dining table in the lucious hotel room, slurping on our noodles loudly. Len decided to have a contest between us as to who could burp the loudest after our meal. Naturally, the better person won (me).

"Maybe we should actually do some work." Len contemplated as we headed back to his room to get the design he drew up.

"No way," I said, "We're currently drawing in victories. I won't rest 'til I win."

"You never will," Len advised me.

"Oh, I will, just watch and see." I challenged. Len grinned as he raced for his pillow, throwing it at me. I grabbed two pillows as Len threw another at me. Grabbing all four pillows in the room, I pegged them all at Len and they hit him in the face simultaneously.

"Instant win!" I yelled happily, "Okay, we can work now."

"Re-match!" Len challenged.

"Fine, but if I win this time, we study, okay?" I said.

"Whatever," Len said, throwing the pillows at me. I caught them and threw them back at him. As Len caught the fourth pillow, I knew he was going to win.

"I'll make you a deal," Len said, "If you agree to be friends with me, I'll let you win."

"That's the most suckish deal of the century," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You didn't say if yes or no though," Len pointed out, grinning.

"Why would you even want to be friends with someone like me?" I asked.

"Coz," Len said, "You're not a fan."

"Wouldn't that make me less friendly towards you?" I asked.

"In a way, yeah, but that's kinda what I want. Friends don't get along all the time, they fight, they have dislikes about each other; it's what makes them trust each other." Len explained, "I'm sick of people just loving me for my glammed up image and not for who _I _am."

"I hate you though," I said, "I don't like you for your image or for you."

Len shrugged, "I don't care, really. You're still pretty cool."

I felt slightly hot under the collar, but ignored it, sighing, "We'll never be _friends_, Len."

"Oh fine," Len said, "Frenemies."

"What?"

"Frenemies," Len explained, "Friendly enemies or mean friends, whatever you want it to be."

"Okay, fine, frenemies." I said.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, wouldn't want to ruin your image." Len smirked.

"Image?"

"Your image of being Miss Bitter," Len explained.

"Oh, well sorry for being slightly bitchy, Mr. Perfect." I said.

He threw the pillows to me (not at me) and grinned lopsidedly.

"Aww, you think I'm perfect, Rinny-kins?"

"Never said that Shota boy."

He smiled at me, his eyes softening, "You know, before, when I asked if that's all that had been bothering you, I didn't mean it in a snide or rude way. It's just, I heard some rumours and I was wondering if they were bothering you."

"Rumours?" I asked.

"About your ex," Len said.

I froze where I stood, my heart beating a bit faster. Whenever someone brought that up, I couldn't help but see his face. The pink hair framing his blue eyes as he ruffled my hair, smiling at me.

"Sorry I-"

"They're true, you know," I murmured.

Len said nothing for a few moments, "I'm so sorry."

"I suppose it's revenge," I sighed, "I was kind of mean to you on Tuesday. About your mum and all."

"You didn't know," Len reassured me, "Not your fault."

I looked at him, "How are you so _calm_? When things like that are brought up, how can you be so calm?"

Len smiled, "Because my mum told me to enjoy the good side of life. She's the reason I got into singing, and probably the reason I still am. Honestly, with all the attention and fangirls, I'd have quit a long time ago if it weren't for my mother's memory."

"How did she die?" I asked, before instantly wishing I could take it back.

"All I was ever told is that she died with a smile on her face," Len smiled sadly, "And really, it's all I ever needed to know."

[...]

**Len's P.O.V**

"Len, go to bed," Dell growled at the door as I brought the pencil line down the girl's forehead, completely the bang.

"I will in a bit," I repeated for the seventh time.

"It's four thirty, Len," Dell said, "Go. To. Bed."

"Oh shit, it is?" I gasped, looking at the clock. 04:32. Oops.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Dell asked, "Jeez."

"Just touching up a drawing," I explained, shading the girl's clips lightly.

"Oh whatever, don't blame me if you can't get up in time tomorrow." Dell said, before stalking off down the hallway. I yawned, looking at the finished picture. The girl's hair dipped in her eyes, but was pulled back by white clips, a rare smile on her face as she laughed. I dusted off the erasings that had been sitting here for over an hour.

Stretching, I lay the sketchbook down on my bedside, smiling to myself as I quietly hummed a tune.

**Short chapter for the win! Thanks for the reviews, suggestions, views, private messages, favourites, follows and etc! Check out my new DeviantArt that I share with Missiefish (if you dare), I'll be uploading something of mine soon ;). **

**And yes, I WILL update CiRCuS MoNSTeR... In the morning. **


	7. Chapter 7 - Cafe

**A/N: Okay, my CiRCuS MoNSTeR files are being weird. So I'll just continue with Not A Fan. Thanks for all the reviews and no, I don't have an obsession with Korea... It's just pure coincidence xD. Korea is pretty awesome though... But I'm a Japan Fan forever :3**

**On with the chapter!**

**Len's P.O.V**

It was about midday when I awoke. Oh man, should've gone to sleep earlier... I sat up in bed, shielding my eyes from the sunlight that filtered in. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed my laptop from my bedside, flipping open the top and pressing the power button. I crawled out of bed, throwing a loose black shirt on with faded jeans and pulling my blankets up to the pillows.

_You have: three new message(s) from: RinAkita._

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: Hey**

**We did no work yesterday, so we gotta meet up some time to do some actual work. I'm thinking maybe you come pick me up at 11? **

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: It's now 11**

**And you're not here, so you're probably sleeping in. Lazy butt.**

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: You better not be ignoring me.**

**If you are, I'll beat you within an inch of your life! Come pick me up. NOW!**

I smirked, rubbing my messy hair and clicking reply.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: I'm awake, I'm awake...**

**I was sleeping, thank you very much. I'm awake now, but Dell's off at a conference meeting, so I'll come pick you up alone, okay?**

It didn't take her even a minute to reply.

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: Good AFTERNOON.**

**I thought you weren't allowed out alone?**

I typed while tearing a comb through my hair.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: Oh shit, what time is it?**

**I'm not. Operation 'Sneak Out' begins now.**

As I pulled my hair up, letting a bit stick out from the rubber band, she replied.

**To: LenKagamine**

**From: RinAkita**

**Subject: It's one pm... Lazy butt.**

**Good luck getting past your fangirl manager. If you're not here in ten minutes, I'll email okay? **

I grinned and slipped on my silver hooded jacket.

**To: RinAkita**

**From: LenKagamine**

**Subject: Ah, it's too bright.**

**Challenge accepted.**

I closed the laptop, getting up and setting it aside, before sneaking down the hall. No doubt Teto would be in the lounge watching something, but I needed Dell's keys from the kitchen if I wanted to drive.

The doorway was slightly open as I snuck through, letting the door slide effortlessly and soundlessly open. Teto was munching on her french bread, watching some horror movie with the blinds drawn and the lights off.

What was it with her and the corny horror movies?

I slipped up the side of the counter, scanning it for the keys that Dell always left lying around. Where the hell... I almost groaned. They were sitting in the fruit bowl on the dining table, on the _other side of the room_.

I snuck around the counters, and slid under the table. Teto let out a loud shrill and I jumped, hitting my head on the table.

"Ow," I muttered under my breath, looking up to see if Teto had noticed. She was too busy hugging a... _WAIT. That's a Len Kagamine body pillow... Oh my... No, focus Len, focus. When did they make body pillows of me?..._

I slipped from under the chairs, easing up on my knees and fishing the keys out of the fruit bowl, holding them so they didn't jingle, before slipping back under the table. Teto hugged the 'me' body pillow tighter as the movie continued.

I slipped back around the counters and out the door, before walking down to the apartment door and easing it open. I sprinted down the stairs, almost tripping twice, before running out of the doors and into the parking lot where Dell kept his car.

I unlocked the car, jumping over the bonnet and throwing the driver's door open. I pulled it shut and turned the keys in the lock, adjusting the review mirror as I went. With the engine going, I reverse out of the car park, setting off down the road. Thank god I paid attention to Rin's address.

[...]

I pulled up at the side of the curb and Rin looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the pavement, writing something in a writing pad. Her black jumper was down to her wrists, and she pulled it over her hands, her boots almost reaching her knees and her short shorts a dark denim. I had to admit, with her hair in uncharacteristic black clips, she looked good.

_NO. Bad Len. _

Rin got up, dusting imaginary dirt off of her shorts as I wound down the window.

"What are you writing?" I asked.

"Notes," She said as I got out, "What are you doing?"

"Opening the door for you, princess," I said, with a lopsided grin. She rolled her eyes as I pulled open the door for her and she climbed in.

I closed the door, climbing back in and pulling my seatbelt over.

"You can drive, right?" She asked.

"That's a dumb question," I grinned and she glared at me through the rear view mirror as I pulled out and started down the street. I drove slower than Dell, but I didn't head back to the hotel room.

"Where are we going?" Rin asked.

"You'll see~"

"LEN WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING?" She demanded, "You better not be kidnapping me, my dad's a police officer-"

"You always think the worst of people," I rolled my eyes, "If you must know, I'm taking you out on the town."

"Len, I told you, we're studying this time."

"I'm useless before four o'clock." I told her.

"...School ends before four..."

"Shh," I told her, smiling as I put a finger to my lip and pulled up at the cafe I'd visited on my first day in town.

"I know this place," Rin said happily, "My sister works here."

I raised my eyebrows as Rin bounced out of the car, suddenly full of energy.

"You have a sister?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Rin nodded, "I don't see her very often though, because she's often too involved with work."

I locked the car, shoving the keys in my pocket and entering the cafe with Rin. I ignored the looks I got, because, somehow, Rin was still managing to radiate hostility even though she was smiling.

Must be her tsundere powers at work.

"Neru-chan!" Rin called out happily as we entered, spying the blonde-haired waitress that had served me on my first day. Well, what do you know? It really is a small world.

"Rin!" The blonde-haired waitress grinned, as a cup of coffee slipped from her fingers, splashing all over a customer.

"Oh my god, I'm so, so, _so _sorry!" Neru apologised profoundly, trying to wipe the coffee off the green-haired woman. Wait...

"Sonika-san?" I gaped, "What are you doing here?"

"I _was _getting a coffee," Sonika mumbled angrily, as Neru apologised again and tried to wipe off the stain, "Ah, just forget it. Nice to see you, Len."

"I mean, why are you in town," I corrected myself.

"I know what you meant," She smiled, ruffling my hair, "Just playing with you. Well, Ollie arrives tomorrow, so I thought I'd wait around for him."

"Oh wow, tomorrow?" I asked, "Time sure has flown past."

"See you've made a friend," Sonika winked suggestively, gesturing to Rin.

"We're 'frenemies'," I explained.

"Frenemies?"

"She's a total tsundere," I nodded.

"I'm not a tsundere!" Rin protested.

"Only tsunderes deny being a tsundere." I told her wisely.

Rin pouted and Sonika giggled.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Sonika smiled, "Oh, yeah, Len. I was wondering if it'd be okay if Oliver could stay in your hotel room; I'm too busy to watch him and we all know how clumsy-"

"Accident prone," I corrected.

"-he can be." Sonika sighed.

"Well, I'll check with Teto later," I said.

"I can call her if you like." Sonika offered, taking out her phone.

"Teto doesn't know I'm here," I told her.

Sonika laughed, "Ah, Teto's being overprotective again, eh?"

"She's being Teto," I said shortly.

"Rin-chan!" Neru called happily, "Do you want anything?"

"I'll have an orange juice," Rin said happily, "What about you, Shota?"

I glared at her, "Banana smoothie, please."

Neru nodded, dashing off into the kitchen to give an order.

"You two can take a seat if you like," Sonika offered, gesturing to the seats. We slipped into the seats at the table.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Rin asked Sonika.

"We go way back to when Len and Ollie were both attending music school. They both entered a contest to try and get a record deal. Lenny won, obviously, but since Ollie came second, there wasn't really much contest this year." Sonika explained, "I used to be a teacher, and Ollie and Len were my students, isn't that right, Lenny?"

Rin was sniggering every time Sonika called me 'Lenny' causing me to turn red.

"Of course, I also saw Len whenever I visited the orphanage to deliver homework to Oliver as I had to get him separate music sheets written in brail." Sonika explained as Neru stumbled over and set a mug of coffee down.

"Y-y-you don't have to p-pay," Neru told Sonika, bowing apologetically, "After all, I did stain your jeans, and I'm v-very sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it," Sonika reassured, "I live with the world's clumsiest boy, I'm used to it."

Neru still didn't accept her pay, and left to collect Rin and I's drinks.

"Orphanage?" Rin asked, giving me a look, "You were an orphan?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, for a while."

"What about your dad?" Rin asked and I didn't meet her gaze, watching Neru as she returned with the smoothies and stirring it with a straw, leaning on my hand.

"Len?" Rin asked.

"Nice weather we're having," Sonika inprovised and Rin frowned in confusion.

"Yeah," I agreed, "Ollie prefers rain though."

"That boy is so weird in so many ways..." Sonika smiled to herself, sipping her coffee and warming her hands on the mug.

The good thing about Rin is that she's smart. She drops the topic and talks about Oliver with us, as we tell her all sorts of stories about the insane things Oliver does.

"Let's not forget the three times he walked into the girl's bathroom," Sonika grinned, "By 'accident'."

"Eww, why'd he do that?" Rin asked, screwing up her face.

"For the fun of it," I laughed, "It was hilarious, actually. Yuma and I spent the entire day trying to find him; he'd hidden under the sink for protection."

"He must've been pretty small," Rin said.

"Still is," Sonika said, "Found him sleeping under my bed two nights ago. Pretty hard to squeeze under there."

"Why was he there?"

"He sleep walks," I explained, "And usually ends up underneath things; he used to end up in Yuki's room all the time."

"Oh yeah," Sonika said, remembering, "Remember the time that he woke up in bed with Yuki?"

I laughed, "Oh my god, how could I _forget_? He was so embarrassed, he wouldn't show his face at breakfast for three weeks! I had to bring him food everyday."

Sonika smiled, before her phone beeped, "Ah, I've got another meeting to rush to. It was nice talking to you, Len, and nice meeting you, Rin. I'll see you two around, yeah?"

We nodded as she headed off out the door, pulling her bag over her shoulder as she went.

"So, Rin-chan," Neru breathed, standing by Rin, "How have you been lately?"

"I'm fine," Rin smiled happily.

"Any news from mum?" Neru tilted her head curiously.

Rin smiled sadly, "Unfortunately no."

"Rinto texted me saying he's coming back to town soon." Neru beamed happily, "If mum comes home, we can have a family reunion or something."

Rin shrugged, and I could see the mask I'd finally broken through starting to form again.

"Anyway," I said, "You're Rin's sister, right?"

"A-ah, y-yes!" Neru stammered, "And you're Len Kagamine! I-I didn't recognise you b-b-before!"

"Call me Len," I smiled and Rin rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, do _not _start flirting with my sister," She said, "Neru, do_ not _fall for this Shota."

"You just want me all to yourself, Rinny-kins," I grinned and she gave me the death glare to end all death glares; not that I was bothered by it in the slightest.

"I just don't want you laying your perverted hands on my elder sister," Rin sneered.

"You know, you two look really cute together," Neru smiled happily and we both looked at her.

It came out in a yell of:

"Are you kidding me-"

"Never, no way Neru-chan-"

"Not in hell or heaven-"

"Not even if he was the last guy on earth-"

"Why would I date someone like her?-"

"Shota-"

"Flast-chested-"

"Moron-"

"Tsundere-"

"Stuck-up prince-"

"Spoilt daddy's girl-"

"Whoa!" Neru finally stopped us, laughing nervously, "I was just kidding, trying to lay off some tension..."

Rin folded her arms over her chest, "It's not funny, Neru-chan, you know how much I hate the guy."

"If you hate him, why're you sitting in a cafe with him having drinks?" Neru asked curiously. Rin flushed scarlet.

"Coz I'm being forced to do a science project with him. That's why." Rin said angrily, "I don't want to have to work with him, but I have to."

"Same," I huffed, "Why would I want to work with a stuck-up snob like you?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"Oh dear..." Neru said, "Why am I always ruining everything between couples?-"

"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" We both yelled at the same time, before turning on each other, "STOP COPYING EVERYTHING I SAY- STOP. STOP IT RIGHT NOW- OH MY GOD STOP!"

Neru laughed, "Whatever you two say. I'll probably be coming over this Wednesday evening, Rin, as that's when Rinto comes home. Can you tell papa?"

"Yeah, sure," Rin nodded, "We best go study, Len."

She edged out of her seat and Neru giggled, her sister shooting her a firm look to shut up. Rin dropped a note and dragged me out of the cafe by my sleeve.

"What's up?-" I asked as she dragged me to the bookstore.

"Can we just not talk and study for once?" She asked, pushing through the door and instantly going to the manga section. I followed her curiously.

"You know, if something's bothering you, you can tell me." I said.

"It's personal though," She snapped, grabbing a Shounen from the shelf.

"I won't tell anyone if you tell me," I promised.

She sighed, looking up from the first page of the manga, "Not a soul, okay?"

"Naturally," I said.

"It's just..." Rin said, "It's stupid, but, when Luki - my ex - died, I oathed I wouldn't date or hang out with guys until I was twenty. And so, now that I have to study and hang out with you, Neru thinks that I've got this big fat crush on you or something, and it bothers me..."

"You don't have to hang out with me." I said quietly, "If you want, you can just come over on weekends and we can study hard, looking through books and tinkering-"

"You see," Rin said, blushing, "The thing is, I like hanging out with you."

I looked at her, shocked; had she really just said that? Had tsundere Rin just admitted she liked hanging out with me?

"You're actually a pretty nice person," Rin said, "And it's easy to be myself around you. And, I dunno, I think I _want _to be friends with you..."

"Then just be friends with me," I said, "It's not a big deal to have a friend, Rin."

"But I hate you-"

"Oh come on," I said, "Stop being such a tsundere as just admit you don't hate me."

She flushed, "Oh fine, so I don't _hate _you; I don't necessarily like you either."

"Fine by me," I said, "As long as you don't hate me, we can be friends."

I took a Shounen novel from the shelf and Rin smiled.

"Then, I suppose... We're friends."

**A/N: CORNY ENDING FOR THE WIIIIIN! Yeah, I sped it up a bit, but the romance won't be coming anytime soon, just friendliness. I'll be focussing too much on making Oliver absolutely adorable! :3 **

**Random note: Just as I wrote 'just be friends with me' 'Just Be Friends' came on. I was like "WTF?" Does this happen to anyone else? Also happens whenever I mention 'Spice!'. I think my computer is psychic.**

**I have so many ideas for Oliver, but so little time to fit it all in... I hope you all like Oliver as much as I'm going to enjoy writing about him xD **

**Yes, Rin has a sister and brother, but they've both left home, so that's why she and her dad live in such a small house. They sold their bigger house years ago. And yes, Len's an orphan, but I ain't speaking a word about his dad *zips lips*. I may update CiRCuS MoNSTeR soon, depends on if my files keep stuffing up.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Oliver's Arrival

**A/N: I literally got on at 6 am, went to my profile page and found NINE new reviews I was like... "Oh my god..." **

**This is the most reviews I've had in an enitre night! Thank you all so muuuuch! This has exploded into popularity! Thanks to the people who added me to a community! Sorry I haven't sent anyone private messages to reply, I'll post replies at the bottom of the chapter.**

**Send in your OCs quickly! You're running out of time to create one! I have already chosen three winners, so hurry! Only two spots left!**

**Oliver's P.O.V**

The sound of the people rushing around the airport was defeaningly loud, it almost made my ears bleed as Sonika led me through the airport, dragging our suitcases that we'd picked up after unboarding the plane.

"Hey, Sonika," I said, speaking in English over the Japanese words being shouted across the airport, "Wasn't I supposed to do Japanese lessons before coming here- ah!"

I tripped over someone else's feet, falling face first onto the floor. My nose hit the floor and I groaned.

"Ollie!" Sonika said, "Can't you just walk normally for once?"

Hands gripped my arms and lifted me up, setting me on my bare feet. I then heard the ripping of a bandaid being removed from it's package, as Sonika pasted it over my scratched nose.

"Anyway, the Japanese lessons, why were they cancelled?" I asked, as Sonika handed me my suitcase and looped arms with me, dragging me to the entrance.

"You're already pretty fluent," Sonika said, "Besides, Len's been keeping up with his English lessons on a daily basis, so he can translate anything."

I shrugged, "I'm not fluent enough to talk to someone at the speed they talk."

"Len is, he'll help you." Sonika said, ruffling my hair, "Don't be so worried, Ollie; it'll all work out."

"Am I going to school?" Oliver asked.

"Uh, no," Sonika shook her head, "It was decided against. Len doesn't even know his way around."

"I can still help Len, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I suppose," Sonika said, "And I'll still be dropping off brail sheets, so don't think you're getting out of your own school work."

"Damn," I grinned, as Sonika led me to a taxi. I rested my hands on the taxi roof as Sonika opened the door for me and I slid in. Sonika requested the driver go somewhere, speaking in Japanese, and I reached for the seatbelt, fastening it, before we sped off.

The radio was on, but I couldn't understand the talk show. I sighed, I really was in a foreign place now. I supposed Len had been when he came to the music school; as it had been in England, and he'd been transfered to the closest orphanage. Least he could speak English.

The car stopped moving and the engines cut, so I unbuckled my seatbelt. The door opened and Sonika helped me out of the car, taking my suitcase. She led me through sliding doors and I was hit with a blast of warm air; I had realised how cold it had been outside.

Sonika began talking to the receptionist as I leant against the counter. I never liked being in foreign places, not knowing where everything is. At least, at home, I knew where even the TV remote was.

"Okay, let's go," Sonika said happily, taking me up the stairs. I tripped about five times every floor, but we finally got up to the room.

"Excuse me!" Sonika yelled, knocking on the door. I heard someone giggling and shrieking inside and I raised my head.

"LEN!" The girl shrieked, before yelling another word several times.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I dunno," Sonika shrugged, before pounding on the door, "Teto-san! Dell-san!"

The door eventually opened.

I heard the man say sorry, but that was all I understood.

Sonika introduced me to the man, who Sonika introduced as Dell, Len's bodyguard and ex manager.

I bowed, trying to stammer out any words I remembered.

"I know some English," Dell explained, his voice gruff, "Follow."

"Ah, Dell-san!" Sonika said, before promptly explaining I was blind. Dell took my hand and led me down the corridor, letting me feel the walls as we went.

"Len!" Dell yelled, thumping on a door, "Oliver's here!"

The giggling inside stopped and the door opened.

"Oliver!" The thickly accented voice said, before Len hugged me happily, "Nice of you to make it, come in."

I walked into the room, promptly tripping on the carpet and going head over heels, falling onto the bed. A girl giggled.

"Oh man," Len said, helping me up, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I smiled slightly, "You?"

"Yeah, all's been good lately," Len said, probably smiling back, "I'm just hanging out with Rin."

"H-H-hello!" A girl's voice stammered from my right, "N-nice to meet y-you!"

She then asked Len and he laughed, replying with a 'yes'.

"Ooo, a girlfriend, eh?" I teased.

"N-No!" Len stammered, "We're just friends."

"What was all that giggling before?" I asked, giggling cheekily myself.

I could feel Len going red in front of me, "We were having a pillow fight, okay?"

"Sure, sure," I said, "I totally believe you."

[...]

**Len's P.O.V (like ten minutes earlier)**

"What do we do now?" Rin asked, looking at the empty glass of orange juice that sat on the dining table. Teto was out cold on the sofa, hugging a Len body pillow and I wasn't permitted to leave the house besides school anymore (I never was but whatever).

Never meant Rin couldn't come over. So here we were, sitting in the kitchen, deciding what mayhem to cause next.

"Are you even allowed down into the lobby?" Rin asked, "Because there's a pretty good lobby cafe down there, if memory serves me right. I went there with Rinto last time he came into town."

"Nope, I'm banished to the hotel room," I sighed, rolling my eyes and leaning on my hands, as I stared out at the city below from the window.

"Maybe we could invite someone over?" Rin suggested.

"Eh, I dunno," I shrugged, "Ollie's coming over soon. I want you to meet him. He's really cute, really."

"Must be pretty cute for _you _to admit he is," Rin smirked.

"Hey, I think lots of things are cute." I denied.

"Like?"

"Puppies and kitties and clouds and stuff." I said, folding my arms over my chest. Rin laughed, her smile meeting her cerulean eyes.

"Pfft," Rin said, "You forgot Miku."

I flushed, "What? No, I'm not dating Miku!"

"Oh really?" Rin giggled, "But you guys are so perfect for each other~"

"Take that back," I challenged, getting ready on my seat.

"Or?" Rin asked.

"Round two of the pillow fights commences." I threatened, "And you won't walk away with any wins this time."

"Pfft," Rin scoffed, "Highly doubt that. You're on."

I wrenched the body pillow from Teto and threw it at Rin who shrieked.

"OH MY GOD, EWWWW, DO NOT THROW YOURSELF AT ME!" Rin yelled and I cracked up laughing as she threw the body pillow to the other side of the room.

"Oh but you know you want me!" I teased as she threw some couch pillows at me. I sped down the hallway towards my room for the four, big pillows that sat on my bed, Rin hot on my heels. I grabbed them, throwing them at Rin as she squealed and threw them back. I managed to knock her over and pinned her to the ground.

"Len, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Tickle fight!" I yelled and she shrieked as I tickled her.

"LEN! Stop, stop, stop, stop!" She giggled, trying to shove me away, "LEEEEEEN!"

"Beg for mercy!" I challenged.

"NEEEVER!" Rin squeaked and giggled, hitting me over the head with a pillow. A thumping at the door made me jump off of her and her giggles died away.

"Len!" Dell's voice came, "Oliver's here!"

I opened the door, seeing the blonde haired boy standing there in a long, white shirt and black shorts, half of his shirt untucked. His golden eyes were blank as he blinked a few times.

"Oliver!" I said in English, guiding him in, "Nice of you to make it, come in."

Oliver walked into his room, his bare toes getting stuck on the threads of the carpet as he fell over and landed on the bed. Rin giggled.

"Oh man," I smiled, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Oliver said, standing up, "You?"

"Yeah, all's been good lately," I smiled, "Just been hanging out with Rin."

Realising I'd mentioned her, Rin quickly attempted to speak English, "H-H-hello! N-nice to meet y-you!" She then turned to me, "Did I get that right?"

I laughed, "Yeah."

"Ooo, a girlfriend, eh?" Oliver teased, grinning mischeviously.

"N-no!" I stammered, flushing red, "We're just friends!"

Rin raised her eyes at me.

"What was all that giggling before?" Oliver giggled cheekily. I was going even more red.

"We were having a pillow fight, okay?" I said.

"Sure, sure, I totally believe you," Oliver grinned, "So, where am I sleeping?"

"I'll set up your bed later-"

"When your girlfriend's gone-"

I glared at him, and I knew he grinned.

"Stop making that face at me, Len," Oliver said, smooshing my face with his hand, "Smile once in a while, it probably makes you look better."

"It doesn't matter if I smile or not, I always look awesome," I protested.

"Pfft, that's not what Yuma told me." Oliver laughed.

"Shush, you don't know what you're talking about," I told him, before turning to Rin, "Tell me he's not cute."

"He's adorable," Rin said, "Look at those squidgeable cheeks of his! So kawaii!"

I smirked, "Rin, he knows what kawaii means."

"Did you two just call me cute?" Oliver blurted.

"Told you!" I said, "And yes, Ollie, we did."

"I'm not cute, I'm manly, how many times do I have to tell you-" Oliver stopped because Rin was squidging his cheeks.

"Kawaiiii!" Rin squealed.

"LEN WHAT IS SHE DOING, MAKE HER STOP!" Oliver cried and I laughed.

"Squidgy!" Rin grinned. I picked up a pillow and threw it at Rin who squealed, throwing a pillow back at me with equal force. It hit Oliver, who picked it up instinctively and threw it to the noisiest person. It got me square in the back of the head.

"OLIVER!" I yelled.

"Score!" Oliver cheered, breaking out into his victory dance, just before Rin's pillow hit him in the head.

"Sorry!" Rin yelled, before swatting me with a pillow.

"ACK! Stop!" I yelled.

"NEVER!" Rin grinned, before tickling my neck. I let out a really girly shriek which caused Oliver to laugh.

"Oh my god!" I hiccuped in my fit of giggles, "Stop! Stop I say! Oh my god Rin stooooop!"

"Surrender then!" Rin said, as Oliver joined her in my torture. I wriggled and writhed, but they weren't letting me get up anytime soon.

"I surrender, I surrender!" I yelled, once in English and once in Japanese. Rin and Oliver backed off, both laughing as I got up.

"Ha, fine, you win," I sighed.

[...]

After Rin left, I guided Oliver around the house and set up his bed for him. He kept wandering around until he got a pretty good idea of the house's layout.

"So," Oliver said, sitting on his bed half an hour later, eating a caramel-filled chocolate, "How'd you and Rin meet?"

"School," I said, "She was forced to be my guide."

"And you two just clicked," Oliver said dramatically, "Like soul mates!"

"Pfft," I scoffed, "She's the world's number one tsundere."

"You didn't deny you like her," Oliver pointed out, "Oooo! Lenny likes Riiin!"

"I do not!" I said, throwing a pillow at him. Oliver laughed, throwing the pillow back.

"My gosh, Len, denial! You're turning tsundere."

"Pfft," I scoffed again, "I don't like Rin. Jeez, we're just friends, is it illegal to just be friends now?"

"Just be friends, all we gotta do, just be friends~" Oliver sung happily, "Don't deny it, Len, you liiiike her!"

"As a friend, dammit." I said.

"A good friend." Oliver said suggestively. I ignored him.

"A _very _good friend."

"..."

"A veeeeeeery very good friend."

"..."

"I'd even say a friend with beeeenefits!"

"NO." I threw a pillow at him and he giggled.

"Len and Rin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"

"Shut up!" I was bright red now. Thank god Oliver's blind, otherwise he'd never let me live this down.

"Miku won't be pleased~"

"I'm not dating Miku!"

"Oh my god! I just realised how good Rin Kagamine sounds as a name-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Or Len Akita~"

"Says the boy who had a crush on Yuki for years-"

"Yeah, but Yuki and I are dating now," Oliver said and my jaw fell, "HA! Take that!"

"How does she put up with you?" I asked.

"She's much awesomer than you, Len, she can deal with my sheer epicness."

"Pfft, sheer epicness my shoe." I scoffed and Oliver threw his pillow at me. I threw it back and he placed it on his bed again.

"You're just jealous." Oliver poked his tongue out at me.

"Of what?"

"Me, for having a girlfriend before you," Oliver grinned, "Admit it, Len, you don't have a girlfriend~"

"I do so," I said.

"Oh really, what's her name?" Oliver asked.

"Lily," I explained, "She's really hot too."

"Then why do you hang out with that Rin girl?" Oliver asked curiously, "If you've already scored yourself a hot girl?"

"We're science partners; how many times do I have to explain that?" I asked.

"About a hundred," Oliver grinned, "Go hang out with your hot girlfriend or something."

"I can't," I said, "Not allowed outside."

"Invite her over," Oliver said.

"Again, can't," I said, "Not allowed to give my room number out to those who aren't trusted; Rin can come over because her dad's a high-ranking police officer."

"So Rin's a last ditch effort to get some company?" Oliver said sadly, "Pity, here I was thinking you two would be so cute together."

"No." I said, "Just no."

Oliver smiled, before stretching and falling back on his bed, "Ah, jet lag hits. I'm so tired."

"Dinner will be ready soon," I said, "So you ought to stay awake until then."

Oliver shrugged, "Yeah, I suppose. But I'm not really hungry."

"Did you seriously eat the crappy airplane food?" I asked.

"Maybe," Oliver smiled slightly.

"Ewww, and why are you _smiling_?"

Oliver laughed evilly and I grinned.

"You know, I missed you, Ollie." I smiled.

"Missed you too, Len," Oliver smiled back, before propping himself up on his elbows, "Your manager cooks so slowly. Sonika's so much faster."

"Sonika just zaps microwave meals," I smirked, "She always has."

"It's still quicker." Oliver flopped on his bed.

"Dinner's ready!" Dell called out.

"Dinner, yum," Oliver shot up, slobbering, "Wait, that was the dinner call, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded as we scrambled to the kitchen.

"DINNER!" Oliver yelled, throwing his hands up in excitement. One of his hands smacked Teto in the nose and she shrieked. Not seeming to notice, Oliver jumped on a chair and waited for dinner, shamelessly drooling.

"You hit Teto in the nose," I said.

"I know," Oliver smiled, whispering, "She was kind of annoying, so I thought I'd pay her back."

"Good job," I winked, before easing back into my chair as Teto lay down the dishes.

"Is your friend going to apologise, Kagamine-sama?" Teto asked grumpily, holding onto her nose.

"She wants you to apologise," I told Oliver.

"Ah, what's the word for sorry?... Ah! I know!" Oliver swore at Teto before turning back to his dinner, causing Dell to laugh.

Teto fumed, "What did he just say to me?"

"His Japanese isn't very good, Teto-chan," I explained, "So it's just a mistake; he means sorry."

Oliver nodded, before digging in to his dinner and I tried to hide the smirk playing on my lips.

I twirled the noodles on my fork, sticking them into my mouth. Oliver was eating clumsily, often dropping noodles and missing his mouth. Teto giggled.

"He's so cute," Teto smiled.

"I'm not cute," Oliver said through mouthfuls, "Len, tell her I'm not cute."

"Yes, he's very cute," I told Teto in Japanese, smiling to myself. Oliver knew enough Japanese to know that wasn't right and flicked a fork of noodles in my direction. I dodged and the noodles splattered over the wall.

"You're cleaning that up!" Teto told me.

"What, but he flicked them!" I said, pointing at Oliver.

"But he's blind and helpless," Teto said, rubbing her still sore nose, "So you have to."

I glared at Oliver, "Now I have to clean that up, thanks to you."

"You're welcome!" Oliver said happily, smiling as he missed his mouth again. He was so doing that purposely...

After dinner, Oliver burped, sliding off his chair and waddling down the corridor back to the bedroom, hand on the wall for guidance. Helpless my foot.

I was scrubbing the sauce off the wall, as Teto turned on the TV.

"Oh! Len! Look, it's that film clip you did!" Teto said, squealing in delight. I gulped as the music started. Oh. God. No. Not _Magical Neko Len Len_.

"Nyan, nyan~" Teto sang along.

"K, I'm done," I said, dropping the cloth, raising my hands, "I'm soooo done."

I walked off into the bedroom, where Oliver was laughing hysterically.

"MAGICAL NEKO LEN LEN, ha! Oh my god," Oliver fell over forwards, still laughing, "How much did they PAY you?"

"Not nearly enough," I sulked, folding my arms over my chest.

"Ha..." Oliver got up, wiping a tear from his eye, "Ah... Hey, it's Sunday here, right?"

"Yeah," I said.

"You've got a concert soon then," Oliver noted, "I don't~ Not until next week."

"Damn you," I cussed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Oliver shrugged, Oliver yawned, falling back on his bed, "We ought to go to sleep."

"Aren't you going to get changed?" I asked.

"Nope," Oliver said, "I don't need to, do I? I'm on a kind of holiday here."

I shrugged stepping over Oliver to get my pyjamas and stripping and changing into them. Oliver had turned over and was trying to sleep, his breathing slowly getting deeper. I flicked off the light and climbed into bed, pulling the blanket over my head.

"Hey, Len," Oliver said, yawning.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Does Rin know..." He yawned again, "About your dad?"

"No." I said.

He yawned again, and I caught onto the yawn, "Why don't you tell her? She seems like the type of person who just accepts things."

"I will one day," I promised.

"Whatever," Oliver said, "Night, Len."

**Yeeeah, I'm making chapters pretty short and uneventful... Sorry for the dull chapter. Next chapter's got a bit of Piko in it (to make up for not updating CiRCuS MoNSTeR in ages *sweat drop*). I'm going to go write CiRCuS MoNSTeR now, and not stop 'til I finish it! So, get your OCs in quickly, only two places left and two chapters 'til all winners are announced!**


	9. Chapter 9 - My Fault

**A/N: THIS IS THE YOUR LAST CHANCE TO ENTER AN OC! *flails***

**Anyway... Thanks for the tonne of reviews, Pandapper xD So many it's almost spam, but who cares? Lol. CiRCuS MoNSTeR's done and dusted with, and I'm now writing a Soul Eater fan fiction; so, if you're a fan of Soul Eater, please check it out ;).**

**Hopefully it won't fail like my Death Note fic did... _**

**Len's P.O.V**

My concert was cancelled, to many's disappointment, so it was arranged over breakfast I would have to do a make-up concert after school on Tuesday. I sat there, stirring my cereal aimlessly as Teto went through the list.

"Well, everyone wants you to sing 'Spice!' of course," Teto said, going slightly pink. 'Everyone' didn't exclude herself... "Oh, and you have to wear your punk outfit."

Dell smirked and Oliver seemed to have picked up the words 'punk' and 'outfit' and put the rest together, as he burst into laughter. I flushed a deep scarlet.

"Why do I have to?" I asked.

"Because," Teto said, "This is a make-up concert, and it's your job to please the fangirls." Teto looked slightly excited, but was trying to hide it, not to much success, obviously.

I sighed, "Oh fine. But only for one song."

"That's my Kagamine-sama for you!" Teto squealed, "So reasonable!"

I stretched, getting out of my seat, "I ought to go get dressed for school now."

"Okay! Have a good day, Kagamine-sama!" Teto gave me a sort of salute as I made my way back to my bedroom. Opening the closet, I heard a bang on the door as Oliver obviously tripped into it.

"Come in," I smirked.

"I was going to anyway," Oliver retorted, pushing open the door and stumbling in, managing to close it. I grabbed my clothes as Oliver jumped onto my bed and I dressed.

"So, is school any fun?" Oliver asked.

"I dunno," I said, shrugging, "I suppose it can be kind of interesting at times, but most of the time, it's pretty uneventful."

"Yeah but you get to see Rinny-kins~" Oliver sung.

"I'm not even going to reply," I sighed, pulling on my shirt.

"You just did," Oliver grinned.

"Shut up."

"You did it again."

I said nothing, fastening my tie to my collar, as Oliver bounced on the bed.

"I'm so booooored," Oliver complained, "Bring Rin home with you, we can torment you again."

"Oh hell no," I said, "Rin was bad enough; you didn't have to join in."

"Ah, but Len, I did." Oliver said, "One of the rules of life."

"Oh pfft," I scoffed, "Well, have fun staying home alone with my crazy manager."

"I'm definitely going to have heaps of fun, what, with no translator around," Oliver grinned, "I could call her a pig and she wouldn't know what I meant."

"Out of all the insults in the world... You chose pig?" I asked.

"Oh shut up," Oliver pouted, "I have better insults."

"Like?"

"Poopyhead... uh..."

"My point exactly," I smirked, shoving my feet into my shoes and adjusting them, "Well, I'm off to school. Have fun."

"Oh, yeah, if the hotel is burnt down when you get back, there's a nine of out ten chance it was me." Oliver smiled sweetly and innocently and I laughed, before heading down the hall. Dell was waiting by the door as usual.

"Is the boy going to be alright with just Teto?" Dell whispered.

"Oh, believe me, Oliver will be just fine," I smirked, as we went down the stairs and out the lobby.

"Oh, yeah, and why did you sneak out on Saturday?" Dell asked.

"Just to work on a school project," I explained, "Nothing harmful."

Dell shrugged, "Oh, yeah, I keep a spare set of keys under the pot plant in the hall. Just use them if you ever want to get away from Teto."

"And this is why you're my favourite personal staff," I said, "Please go back to being my manager."

"I may if we ever find another bodyguard," Dell said, "Wait, no, let me rephrase that... A _trustworthy _bodyguard that doesn't sneak their kids on for the flights."

"Maybe we could ask Haku to come back to business," I suggested with a wry smile, causing Dell to become instantly flustered and grunt in denial as we slipped into the car.

I pulled my seatbelt on and put my headphones in my ears as Dell pulled out of the driveway and down the street. It was weird how the longer I sat in a car being driven crazily by Dell, the easier it got. Suppose I was adjusting.

As Dell pulled up at the front of the school, I stepped out, a chorus of 'Kagamine-sama' filling the air. I promptly ignored the fangirls and strode into school. Piko met up with me and we made our way to music class.

"So, rumours are spreading that you went on a date with Akita," Piko said, "Apparently you two were spotted rowing at a cafe."

"We were actually getting lunch before picking up some study books," I explained casually, as Piko jumped over a bench.

"Sure, Len, sure," Piko smirked and I shoved him playfully. We headed through the bottom stairs of the art block and through to the music room, where there was a buzz about the next set of auditions coming up. So far, no-one else good enough had come forward.

Piko bounced onto one of the tables next to me as I fell into my seat. Moments later, Lily slid onto the table in front of my, her arms wrapping around me affectionately.

"Hey babe," I said, easing up as she played with my hair. Before she could say anything, Kamui strode through the door and she had to go back to her seat. Piko slipped back into the seat next to me.

"So, class," Kamui said, "We still have a spot spare for the concert. Is there anyone in this class who hasn't auditioned yet?"

Piko rose his hand slightly, "But I don't sing; I just play guitar."

"Oh come on, give it a try, Utatane." Kamui encouraged, waving Piko up. Piko shrugged and slid around the seats, hands in his pockets as he headed up to the front of the stage. Everyone fell into a hush.

Piko took only one hand out of his pocket to take the microphone. He'd have troubles with stage fright, at least. He was one of the most cocky guys in school, even if he did generally keep to himself.

"I'll sing my cover of 'Alluring Secret Black Vow'," Piko said, as Kamui browsed through the music and found the backing track. Piko started singing, and, I had to admit, he wasn't bad. In fact, he was pretty good; amazing if you considered he didn't sing.

As he fell silent for the few moments in which the song does, everyone look aprehensive for him to open his mouth again. And when he did, we were all still shocked.

As the song ended, everyone burst out into applause and Piko bowed dramatically, his ahoge bobbing.

"Good work, Utatane; I think it's safe to say you have the part." Kamui smiled.

"Thing is, sir, I don't really want to be in the concert as a singer," Piko said, "I'd prefer to stay with the band and play the music, rather than sing."

Kamui sighed, "Ah, well... If we can't find anyone, you'll sing, right?"

"Yeah.. I-I s'pose," Piko said, getting a bit flustered from all the attention as he slunk back to his seat, "Oh man, didn't plan on that..."

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just... Well, my father doesn't believe in singing... He thinks playing a musical instrument and not being seen is better... And, uh, he believes I should believe the same as him, and he's flying in for the concert," Piko slumped on the desk, "I'll be in big strife if I perform."

"So someone else needs to audition and be good enough so you don't have to..." I said slowly, "I think I might just be able to help you on that, Piko."

Piko gave me a look, but didn't question me.

[...]

"No way, I am not auditioning for that crappy mid-year concert."

"Please, Rin?"

"No."

"PLEEEEEASE? For meeeee?"

"Hell no."

"For Piko?"

"Double hell no."

"For Kamui-sensei?"

"No."

"For the sake of the school? For the sake of Shion-sensei's reputation?" I asked.

"Oh, fine, maybe." Rin said, "Now leave me alone."

She was sitting on the side of a garden bed, reading her book as usual. Man, it was rare to not see her with the damned thing nowadays.

"But you're radiating hostility and it's keeping the girls away," I said, gesturing to a swarm of girls hiding behind a tree.

"They're taking snapshots, you idiot. Everyone thinks we're a couple. Go make out with Lily to prove them wrong or something." Rin growled.

"Oh my god, _no_," I said, "I'm not kissing a girl in public. Jeez, I have some dignity, you know."

"Not much." Rin smiled to herself and I pouted childishly.

"Rinny-kins, please let me stay wit you?~" I sang inching closer as she inched backwards, almost like a magnetic reaction.

She ignored me entirely, so I shuffled over again, and she shuffled away. I kept shuffling until she came to the end. She stood and walked to the other side of the garden bed.

"Riiiin," I whined as she sat down. She was smiling behind that thick book of hers, I could see it.

"Leeen," She whined back and I saw it as a challenge, walking over and sitting on her.

"OH MY GOD GET OFF!" She shrieked and shoved me off of her lap. I fell laughing.

"Your face... It's so fuuuuunnny!" I laughed. She was bright red, lips pursed, eyes wide. She kicked me lightly.

"Oh shut up," She growled, "And leave me alone."

She headed around the side of the garden beds, so I followed her, walking along the brick wall, "You know, auditions are open right now."

"I'm auditioning tomorrow, Len," Rin said, "I told you that already. I'd like just a little bit of practise before making a fool of myself."

"Fool of yourself?" I frowned, "Rin, I'm asking you-"

"To try and bail Piko out, I know."

"No, I'm asking you, because I think you can sing." I said, "If I didn't, I'd ask Lily or someone utterly devoted to me and skip having another argument with you."

"Everyone can sing, idiot," Rin said. I jumped down in front of her.

"But not everyone can sing like you can." I smiled. She flushed, walking around me to avoid me and I rolled my eyes.

"Just accept the compliment, you tsundere." I said, jumping back up on the brick wall.

"I'm not a tsundere."

"Are."

"Are not."

"Are."

"Are not."

"Toooootally are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Are."

"N- Are."

"Ha, almost got you." Rin smirked, "And not."

"You only proving my point, Rinny-kins~" I sang.

"You also almost proved my point that you're a complete fool." She shoved me gently and I almost fell into the garden.

"Oi, watch it." I said.

"I shoved you _gently_," Rin rolled her eyes, "Not my fault you've got crap ass balance."

"Crap ass? You just stringing naughty words together now?"

"Oh shut your mouth," Rin rolled her eyes again. I grinned.

"You know, Rin, you're so tsundere it's kind of cute," I smiled, before realising what I'd just said. I kept smiling, making it look as if it was just some of my aimless flirting, but really, when I said it, I'd meant it.

I'd never meant it before...

Rin ignored me, supposedly too involved in her book to hear.

"Ah, fine, I'll go away, you win," I rolled my eyes, "See you."

"See you," She mumbled, as I walked away. Girls bombarded me with questions, and I explained it was all just about the science project. Oh man, this science project was starting to become an awesome excuse.

"Hey, Kagamine-sama," A voice said flirtily. I turned as saw Lily with her friends, walking over to me.

"Hey, babe," I smiled as she stroked my neck.

"Think you could come over tonight?" Lily murmured near my ear, my arms circling her waist almost instinctively.

"Sure," I kissed her cheek before she walked off, waving as she went. Her friends giggled excitedly by her sides.

"Aren't you dating Rin?" A voice asked. I looked up to see a green-haired girl with short, cropped hair standing with her foot on a soccer ball.

"No," I said.

"Sorry, suppose you're sick of people saying that," She apologised, "It's just, it's rare for Rin to get a friend, and if they're a guy, everyone assumes they're dating."

"I can see why," I nodded.

"My name's Gumi, by the way," She said, "I'm captain of the Crypton Academy Soccer Team; or the 'CAST' for short. Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Are you friends with Akita or something? Because you keep speaking about her with her first name." I asked.

Gumi shrugged, "I honestly wouldn't mind being friends with her. She seems like a nice girl, once you get past the initial bitterness."

"She is," I smiled slightly, "Once you get past the thick layer of tsundere."

Gumi smiled too, just as the bell went off, "Well, see you later, Len."

Gumi walked off and I headed to my next class.

[...]

"I'm auditioning now," Rin told me as I emerged from the classroom after school.

"Now?" I asked.

"Not many people will be around... So... I'll feel more comfortable," Rin wriggled a bit, playing with her thumbs idly.

"You don't have to do this if you're too nervous, you know," I said.

"No, no, I kind of... _want _to do it. But if I'm not good enough, I don't want to be embarrassed in front of everyone-"

She stopped as I pulled her into a hug. She was so small, I didn't realise until I hugged her.

"Len, stop, let me go-"

"I know you'll be good enough," I smiled at her, "I went through three rounds of a contest and barely came out on top; your voice is amazing enough to secure a spot in the finale instantly."

"L-Len..." She said, flushing pink, "People are s-s-staring..." Her eyes opened in fear for a split second and she pushed me away, "I have to go and hurry."

She dashed off down the corridor, pushing past everyone. _Did I do something?_

I headed off to the music rooms slowly, wanting to be there to support her in her audition. She probably wanted me there too; otherwise, why would she tell me?

"Oh frickin' hell," I heard a voice cuss as someone stumbled around the side of the building. I looked back and saw Rin leaning against the wall, hunched over, blood dripping from her nose and mouth. I froze. What the...

She coughed up more blood, keeling over and holding her stomach.

_You hugged her and she's having a nosebleed! And I thought that only happened in anime... _My inner idiot said. Whereas another part of me was concerned, wanted to go over and insist she tell me who did it. But I knew it was my fault; someone was jealous, and it was my fault for being so friendly.

Rin slumped against the wall, before passing out against it. I hurried over to her, wincing at the sheer amount of blood dripping from her lips.

"Oh man, you idiot..." I murmured, wrapping my hands under her legs and shoulders, lifting her up. Her head rocked to the side, leaning against my chest and I felt myself heat up in the cheeks for some reason. _Dammit, stop acting like this, Len._

I carried her off to the nurse's office, trying to hide the constant blush in my cheeks from holding her in my arms.

**ENTER AN OC QUICKLY!one! *flails***

**Anyway... Sorry about writing that twice. Yeah, I couldn't resist making his 'inner idiot' think the nosebleed thing. xD (I'm the inner idiot, just so you know). Short chappie, I know, but I decided to leave it there for suspense! Anyone who guesses who did this to poor Rinny gets a gold star... Made from chocolate. **

**Also, I'm almost ready to get my beta reader! I dunno why, I just want it (lol). **

**And Len's starting to like Rinny a bit more, if you know what I mean *nudge nudge*.**

**Rin: What?**

**Len: *flushes and hides face***

**Lastly, I NOW HAVE 100 REVIEWS IN TOTAL *flails* Thank you all so much for helping me reach my goal! I love you all :3**


	10. Chapter 10 - Jealousy

**A/N: *casually logs onto fan fiction* Now... How many reviews- HOLY CRAP. **

**That was literally my reaction! I've mentioned in other stories I don't have the time to spell check, as I often write chapters in between classes and late at night, so I try to be as accurate as possible while writing normally. And since I only have access to WordPad, it doesn't tell me when something is wrong so... Whenever I'm really unsure of a word, I will track down a dictionary, though. **

***throws hundreds of chocolate stars into air* Everyone gets one because every guess was right! Also, I'm going to make it customary to answer all reviews on my tenth chapter, so everyone will be getting a reply at the end; as well as the winning OCs being announced! Thanks to everyone who entered an OC, and I'm sorry I can't accept them all. Some characters were too detailed, others were too hard to use; basic, funny, different characters will be used. About 70% of the entries were book worms and nerds lol; why we all think the same? **

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows ;) Also, to the people from the community that added me. This story has TWO communities, as one of them is my own. Thanks if you check out the community I own, in which all the stories are regularly updated ;)**

**Longest author notes evaaaaah. Anyway, on with the story! :D**

Rin was awake about half an hour later, sitting in the nurse's office with a bandaid over her nose. She was leaning over, holding onto her stomach and occasionally dashing into the bathroom to throw up or spit blood.

I stayed with her the entire time, calling Teto to let her know I was going to be home late. I was now leaning against the door to the bathroom as Rin chucked up inside.

"Tell me who did this to you," I told her firmly for the fifth hundredth time.

"I told you, it doesn't matter," Rin hissed back, before chucking up again. I winced.

"Please, I want to-"

"Get revenge?" Rin asked, emerging from the bathroom. Her eyes were strained from crying, blood dripping from the side of her mouth from her latest attack. She leant on the doorway frame, holding her stomach.

I looked away, not able to stand the sight of her, not when she was like this. Not when it was my fault that she was like this...

"Stop blaming yourself," She said, as if reading my mind, "It's not your fault, it's the bitch who did this to me's fault, okay?"

"And maybe if I approach them, they'll stop-"

"Oh I highly doubt it," Rin snickered, "Your word won't stop them. They've been doing this to me for years."

"What?" I said, "Rin, oh my gosh, why haven't you told someone you... you... you baka..."

"Oh jeez, Len, get a grip, you look like you're going to cry," Rin rolled her eyes, "I don't need to tell anyone; if I do, it'll just get worse, like it always did."

"Rin..." I started.

"Can you just help me sit down again?" Rin asked, "My back's killing me."

I looped my arm under her shoulder and scooped her up. She let out a squeal.

"OH MY GOD PUT ME DOWN." She yelled angrily.

I lay her down in one of the cots, where she glared at me, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.

"That was not necessary," She hissed.

I shrugged, "I suppose not..."

_It's just her curves are so damn sexy- oh wait, what curves?_

Oh go away, inner idiot.

"I'll get you a class of water," I said, going to walk off to the taps. Rin's hand shot out and grabbed my sleeve. I turned back and looked at her.

"Don't leave," She said, no, she _pleaded_. I smiled, sitting on the side of the cot with her.

"Why don't you just tell Shion-sensei? Or your dad? Then it'll surely stop."

Rin shook her head, "Last time I did, their older brothers cornered me outside school. They tried to make me pay them for their sisters' suspension, but I didn't have anything so they tried to rape me and... Well, some dude they mistook for my brother saved me and..."

Rin started sobbing, "I-I don't kn-know if s-s-someone will be there n-next time. A-and I'm a-afraid of that... O-Of being like N-Neru and raising a ch-child as a t-t-teenager."

_Neru's got a child? More importantly, I was the one who saved Rin..._

"Of course I'll be there," I said gently, as I wrapped my arms around her.

"You..." Rin hiccuped, "I sh-should've known..."

She was smiling now, as she hugged me back. I buried my face into her neck and she did nothing to stop me from doing so. We just sat there for a long time, before Rin pushed me aside and ran for the bathroom.

I sighed, smiling to myself slightly. What was wrong with me? I drew her in the first week I knew her, I kept pestering her and hanging out with her, and now, I couldn't get enough of her touch, or just seeing her, and it hurt me that she was hurt.

My phone rung and I took it from my pocket. _One new message from Lily._

_Where r u? _

I quickly texted an answer, annoyed by my habits of perfecting every damn word.

_Taking care of Rin, I'll come over on Wednesday instead._

Lily replied 'Ok' after a few minutes, and I realised I couldn't hear Rin throwing up in the toilet anymore.

"Rin?" I asked, "Rin?"

I moved closer, hearing a few sobs from inside the bathroom. I reached for the doorknob but stopped, thinking it'd be rude - and perverted - to burst into a bathroom.

"L-L-Luki help me..." Rin was murmuring under her breath. My heart froze; she was talking to herself about her ex... The ex that died two years ago...

A part of me was angry; why was she turning to someone who was dead when she had me? When I could help her, when I could protect her better than any dead guy? Better than that guy ever did. _OH MY GOD LEN STOP BEING JEALOUS OF A DEAD BOY._

"Rin, can I come in?" I asked.

"N-No," She sobbed, so I turned the door handle and slipped the door open. Rin was leaning against the tiles, lots of blood smeared over her mouth, hair falling lazily in her face.

"I said no..." She said as I closed the door, walking over to her and sitting beside her, "You pervert... I could've been going to the toilet..."

"We both know if you were, you would've screamed 'oh my god, you perverted freak, of course you frickin' can't'." I smiled as her head flopped onto my shoulder.

"I'm so pathetic," She said, "You're an orphan, yet you don't complain, or cry, or do any of the shit I do. I have an amazing father, two, kind older siblings and I'm an A grade student who gets along with all the teachers... Who the hell am I to complain? I don't have any pressure on my shoulders, or any expectations to live up to."

"You're not pathetic," I said, letting my hand fall onto hers, "I cry when no-one's looking and I've tried to smother myself with a pillow twice." I let my head fall on top of hers too.

"But you've got it worse than me..." Rin said, "Your mother's dead... I don't know about your father... You've got so many expectations..."

"I'm also loved by every fifth person in the world and the crush of every second woman in the world and I'm stinking rich. My life isn't difficult unless I make it so," I said, "And, you know, my father? He's in jail."

Rin's eyes widened in shock, "What? Why?"

"He beat me and my mother when I was young." I explained, "He killed my mum."

"I.. I'm sorry... I..." Rin began tearing up again.

"Don't be, you're not him," I smiled sadly, "Besides, you have your own problems."

Rin bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears and just buried her face into my shoulder. Tears formed in my eyes too, as we sat on the floor together, both helpless puddles of mush.

"And you know, I've never wished anything could change," I said, "I never wished maybe my mum didn't die, or my dad wasn't so cruel, or anything. It all played out how it played out; I met amazing people because of it. And, you know, all I really wanted was a friend. Someone who wasn't famous, or never went to school; someone normal who saw me as simply a friend."

"I'm your friend," Rin said quietly, "I'm sorry; for being so mean, so overdramatic..."

"It's fine," I smiled, "Are you ever going to tell me what made you cry last Tuesday; or who did this to you?"

"Luki died exactly two years and six days ago," Rin sighed, "I can't stop thinking about him whenever it's that day..."

"And who did this to you?"

"I told you, it'll only make it worse," Rin said.

"If there's anything I can do to help you, you know I'll do it, right?" I told her.

"Thanks, Len," She smiled, "Thanks for always being there for me; even when you didn't know me. And, for the record, powdered bananas are a great idea."

I laughed, and hugged her tightly.

[...]

"I'm home!" I called as I walked through the hall. Teto was waiting for me and tackled me into a hug.

"How was your day, Kagamine-sama?" She asked.

"All good," I said, shoving Teto off of me.

"LEEEEEN!" Oliver yelled, tripping as he exited the kitchen, "I may you something! Come see!"

"Now I'm scared." I said, but followed Oliver gingerly into the kitchen. Sitting on the counter was a piece of charred toast; with... a face on it? The face was frowning with a long scar across it's forehead.

"Uh..." I said, "Um..."

"IT'S YOU." Oliver said, shoving the plate into my hands. The toast was creepy... very creepy...

"I don't look like that..." I said slowly.

"Well, I dunno what you look like," Oliver said, "So I just used my imagination."

"What's the scar?" I asked.

"You got cut on the forehead at the orphanage, so I imagined you with a big, ugly scar!" Oliver beamed innocently. Oh man...

"That's cleared up now, Oliver... And uh, what's with the expression?"

"Well, you're always grumpy, so I thought it suited you!" Oliver grinned.

"... And the teeth?"

"Oh, I just got bored."

"...Dammit Oliver, this is creepy toast... Not me..."

"Well, maybe if you let me feel your face..." Oliver stepped forward, lifting his hands blindly and shoving his hands on my face. One of his fingers went in my mouth and another jabbed my eye.

"OLIVER." I yelled and he laughed.

"There's your eyes..." Oliver said, "And your nose and mouth... Oh, no scar, damn." He shoved my mouth open as I tried to protest.

"YOUR TEETH ARE POINTY!" Oliver screamed, jumping back, tripping over absolutely nothing and falling on his butt.

I laughed, "Oh man, you certainly do liven up the place..."

"VAAAAMPIRE!" Oliver squealed.

"I vant to suck your blood!" I yelled, pouncing on Oliver who screamed again, thrashing.

"But I tastes horrible. I knows I does."

"Oh eww, have you eaten yourself before?"

"No. Mayu said I taste horrible-"

"HOW DOES MAYU KNOW HOW YOU TASTE?"

"She bit me," Oliver said, "Because I stole her corn chip, so she bit me and said I tasted like raw fish."

"Sushi?"

"Oh crap, I forgot you like sushi! HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEE!"

I let Oliver go and he looked confused.

"Why the sudden change of heart, eh, Lenny?"

"Just tired," I yawned, stretching, "I spent two hours looking after Rin... I'm knackered."

"Ooo," Oliver said, "Two hours-"

"Keep you fantasies to yourself. If you must know, someone hit her in the stomach hard enough to make her puke and spit up blood." I said, "Nothing romantic about it."

As I said that, I remembered hugging her in the bathroom, with her head resting my shoulder and our hands overlapping. _Just friends, just friends, just friends..._

I headed off to bed and Oliver followed me.

"How was your day?" Oliver asked.

"Ollie, I just need sleep, really. Thanks for caring and all, but I need my rest."

"Oh fine, have your beauty sleep; wouldn't want to be ugly for Rinny-kins, I suppose." Oliver smirked. I was glad he couldn't see my red cheeks as I headed into my room. Oliver decided to go bother Teto and I closed the door gently.

I walked over to my drawer and pulled out the sketchbook, flopping on my stomach and flipping the pages to the drawing I did of her. I smiled wryly to myself, shoving the sketch into the drawer and falling back on my bed.

I closed my eyes, trying to drift off. But all I saw was a rare smile on a blonde girl's lips, the smile reaching even her usually sharp and hateful aqua eyes. Her blonde bangs fell in her eyes, but were clipped back with white clips. She wore an ironed, white uniform, with a ribbon falling down her front, the plaited skirt flaring up with her socks meeting her knees. And as I opened my eyes again, one thought went through my mind.

_I'm in love with a tsundere._

**Yes. Yes you are, Len. So, I made this chapter short, because now I have to go with through the winning OCs... Anyway! Here they are, and many thanks to everyone for entering, even if they didn't get in :3 So, in no particular order, I present the OCs, their owners and their basic information. No secrets will be revealed though; so only the creator will knwo their back history! ;) (No spilling the secrets!)**

**ACCEPTED OC #1**

**CREATED BY: MizuneMinamiki**

**OC: Mizune Minamiki**

**AGE: 15**

**APPEARANCE: Icy blue hair that reaches her shoulders with bangs brushed to the right. Crystal blue eyes and pale skin. **

**PERSONALITY: Usually immature and goofy, pretty light-hearted. Lacks common sense and is often over-emotional, being a total drama queen.**

**HOBBIES: Photography, singing, etc.**

**OTHER: Mizune is one of Miku's close friends, as they became close during a particular photo shoot in which Mizune 'accidentally' deleted the embarrassing photos Miku was commissioned to take. **

**ACCEPTED OC #2**

**CREATED BY: BeautysHarlequin**

**NAME: Kalevi (Kale) Drew**

**AGE: Almost 17**

**APPEARANCE: Green-gold eyes, jet black hair with artificial green highlights. Cropped shortly at the back with long and unruly bangs. **

**PERSONALITY: Quiet, but has a knack for getting into trouble often. He'll openly start shipping people around him together, and often says Rin and Len would be the school's best couple yet, which often causes Rin to go into a rage. He has a massive crush on Miku, and would happily tell anyone he does, but would never say it to her face. Her is fluent in English and loves literature and can sometimes be seen reading a dictionary. He hates maths with a passion and is often sent to detention by Mr. Megpoid for saying inappropriate things. He'll happily bail anyone out of trouble, even if he doesn't know them, because he just likes to help people.**

**OTHER: Kale has a family life he keeps to himself, and Len and Rin both respect that, as they both have family troubles too. However, Lily once found out about one of his secrets due to his ex gossiping, and spread it around the school, meaning Kale hates her.**

**ACCEPTED OC #3**

**CREATED BY: Vector Zero**

**NAME: Nicole (Nikki) (Len: Hey, Shadow, help me make powdered bananas! Me: NO. I'm busy go away! Now... Where was I?...)**

**AGE: 15**

**APPEARANCE: Dark blue eyes and shoulder length dark blue hair.**

**PERSONALITY: Mildly anti-social, but is nice when you get to know her. Always making corny jokes and can be quite bossy. **

**OTHER: Rumoured to come from a Yakuza family for several reasons. **

**ACCEPTED OC #4**

**CREATED BY: Lyric22 (One of my first readers ever :3)**

**NAME: Celeste Hikari**

**AGE: 16**

**APPEARANCE: Midnight blue eyes, dark purple hair that sits on shoulders in curls. **

**PERSONALITY: Seems to be a mute brainiac as she's always seen loitering around with a book, just like Rin is. But, unlike Rin, Celeste is just too shy to talk to anyone, rather than just blindly hating everyone. She often wishes that she could have the type of romantic relationship that she reads about in her books. She can be short-tempered if you're forcing her to do something unreasonable, but it otherwise very patient.**

**OTHER: Celeste helps out in the office, as she's close friends with Haku. She often thinks it's ironic how Haku won't shut up about Dell, and yet never talks about her current partner and suggests a few times that maybe Haku still likes Dell.**

**ACCEPTED OC #5**

**Note: Edited as another OC was made to go with this character, but due to lack of space, that OC was not included. **

**CREATED BY: Jello-is-awesome-123**

**NAME: Runa Kurone**

**AGE: 13**

**APPEARANCE: Right pink eye, left blue eye, light pink hair with an electric blue streak. Hair is waist length and wavy at the bottom.**

**PERSONALITY: Runa is quite shy and cute and very friendly to even complete strangers. She seems to be very secretive, but opens up when you get to know her. She also really loves sweets. **

**OTHER: Runa has an obsession with sweet things, like stawberries and chocolates, and loves collecting stuffed bunnies and other plushies. She is often seen as childish or cute, but can act quite emotionally mature for her age.**

**Oh man, took a while to write out... Quite a few edits to 'Runa' but besides that, the OCs are basically the same thing they were in the entries :) I'm sorry to all the wonderful OCs that were entered and I didn't accept; thank you all for entering anyway. And, because this is Chapter ten, here are the review replies~ (Only one review reply per person, otherwise I'll be here forever xD)**

**Lokixmayu2307: **Thanks for the OC entry; I'm sorry but I'd already decided! So, really, I'm the one that's gomen... Thanks for reading this though, I really appreciate it :3

**Mugi-pyon: **Thank you for the entertaining OCs, Mugi-chan! I'll use them somewhere else, promise :3 Just can't fit them all in xD

**44Anifreak44: ** Here, have a golden chocolate star! :3 You're absolutely correct, Lily's the meanie here. (Damn, Len, just realise it already...)

**Vector Zero: **Lol; Gumi's too nice to punch anyone, besides, she thinks Rin's pretty cool. And here, chocolate star~ *hands star* Thanks for the reviews and support; you're one of my loyal readers.

**SWIRL3Y: **Ah, yes, I apologise for any errors; hopefully they're small enough and you can see what they were meant to be. I've already explained why in the top of this chapter. Gomen for the mistakes!

**DoKuRiNAnimationQueen: **Ha... Everyone knows... Did I make it too obvious? xD Gold star for you anyway :3 Love you 3!

**Lennylovesrinny02: **If you're a 'creep' then I'm a total creep queen. xD No, no, the golden stars are the entire point... *hands chocolate star*. And yes, in THAT way. xD LEN YOU PERVERT STOP! Len: You're the damned pervert here...

**BeautysHarlequin: **I feel the same 'bout Lily; but there always need to be a bad guy, yeah? *attempts to scrunch up cardboard and fails* I promise I'll make her pay soon... Very soon... VEEEEEEERY- Okay. Yeah. I'll shut up now... xD

**EmilyLovesbooks: **Yes. Yes she will. *grabs Lily by the ear* They AAAAALL want you to suffer. EVERY. SINGLE. READER.

**MizuneMinamiki: **Oliver's sight has absolutely NOTHING to do with his clumsiness. xD He's just eternally cursed to trip over absolutely nothing forever more. And yes, that's the only reason Lily invited Len over. Coz she's so slutty. *sends Lily evil eye*

**DarkBloodyAngelOfAbyss: **Um... Should I wipe you up or?... *doesn't know how to deal with people who've melted into blobs*... Um... *resolidifies* Did I do good? *hands gold star* And yes, Oliver is SO cute. And just so you know, half his moments are actually planned out. xD Here, you can squeeze him if you like~ *throws Oliver at DarkBloodyAngel so he can be SQUEEZED!*

**Pandapper: **In between the chaos of my yandere friends hunting me down and class!... Oh man... Yeah, I have no social life besides two yandere maniacs and an awesome Otaku who attends a different school, so I just type things up in my spare time. xD So much to do, so little time...

**AquaBluey: ** We all have an inner idiot *cough* Lenjusthasareallybiginneridiot *cough*. Rin's targeted by a lot of bullying, so this won't be the last time... I hate writing those moments...

**The Gone Angel Gives Brofist: ***brofists* (Just haaaad to xD). I attempt humour, and I'm glad someone else besides me find it amusing... Heh... I just get weird looks IRL... Thanks for the support :3 (And the brofist hjahajhd).

**TakoLukaIsYummy: **SURPRISE. Lol. Holiday present? xD

** : **Yeah, Rin's quite dislikable at first, but that's the aim. It's so it's proven that Len really does take a liking to her, even though she's so horrible to him. Makes it FLUUUUFFY!

**xX little kagami Xx: **Ha, yeah, my friend and I were discussing it, but I was like "NO. I NEED ONLY RINXLEN FLUFF." So I just decided on making it so Rin and Oliver get along because they both love teasing (Len: TORTURING) Len. And Ollie thinks Rin should SO be with Len. He wouldn't dream of stopping that. xD And all suggestions are welcome :3

**Kamuiluka03: **I try to update really quickly! Thanks for the review :3

**Adorable Reader: **LOL my friend heard of that and cracked up laughing when she read the chapter. I was just like... "...Am I missing something here?"...

**MelancholicVirus: **Thanks! :D Ooo, pwetty confetti... *attempts to chase falling confetti childishly* And we're all fans of Len (Even you Rinny :P JUST ADMIT IT).

**Lolly101: **Thanks for your reviews :3

**Jello-is-awesome-123: **Sometimes I love Teto, sometimes I just wanna hit her xD She's one of those people I just can't make my mind up about. Thanks for the review :3

**Ano-kun: **Ah, I don't really have an 'obsession' with Korea (I'm bordering on it xD). It's probably my second favourite place in the world, Japan being my favourite. Only when I get these comments do I realise I really am international! It's amazing! Thanks for the review :3

**Arius the Heretic: **Ah, yeah, I didn't update for two days, so I decided to make two chapters in one as a sort of make up :3 I just get so impatient that stories I like aren't updated, so I try to update mine xD

**Riliane L: **(Sssh, don't point out my logic flaws, jk) I fixed up all the flaws you pointed out; thanks! I don't have much time for editing and I'm REALLY forgetful xD

**TheSapphireRose: **Don't worry, I won't let the OCs take over ;) They'll get their spotlights, but not as much as Len and Rin do :3

**Anon: **Okay!

**Kimki Mckell: **Yes, good god. O_O I didn't know how a fangirl manager would turn out; apparently it turned out... Like this xD I don't know anymore! What is sanity?!

**Good-Girl-Gone-Bad.9: ** Thanks for saying that! It warms my heart when people say they feel like they're in the story... I try my hardest :3

**That's all the reviews! :3 Thank you all for your support over the past few weeks and ten chapters! The story is begining to get romantic! ;)**


	11. Chapter 11 - Even If You Hate Me

**A/N: OKAY! Some OCs will be introduced in this chapter! I'm thankful noone flamed me for not choosing their OC! Good sportsmanship be here in my readers. :D Also, thanks for the trillions of reviews overnight, my precious readers :3**

I felt flustered as I pull my tie around my neck hurriedly the next day, standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror. I kept obsessing over my looks; making sure every strand of hair was in place, that my teeth were perfectly fine, that my uniform didn't crinkle in anyway...

"Oh my god Len, it's just getting ready for school, not preparing for the local beauty pagent!" Oliver cried from outside the door, "I NEED TO PEE REALLY BADLY GET OUT ALREADY."

"Go pee against a tree." I suggested.

"I'm not a fricking dog, let me in!" Oliver said, whining like a... dog. I smirked.

"Okay, okay, almost done- oh god, is that a speck of chocolate on my teeth?" I leant forward, inspecting my reflection.

"LEEEEEEEEEN!" Oliver screamed, "LET ME IN YOU SICK SADIST!"

"Okay, fine, fine, I just need to brush my teeth again..." I said, taking out my toothbrush.

"YOU BRUSHED THEM FIVE TIMES LET ME IN YOU POOPYHEAD!" Oliver screamed, "OH MY GOD I KNOW YOU LIKE RIN AND YOU'RE BEING A OVERLY SELF CONSCIOUS GIT BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS! LET ME IN!"

"I'm not an overly self conscious git!" I denied, before adding, "And I don't like Rin!"

"Yeah, yeah, you love her, whatever, LET ME IN!" Oliver thumped on the doorway, "OH MY GOD IT'S STARTING TO GO DOWN MY LEG LEN OPEN THIS FRICKING DOOR NOW OR I WILL SWEAR LIKE THE GODS HAVE NEVER HEARD!"

"One, ew. Two, too much information. Three, fine." I said, opening the door. Oliver bolted past me and didn't care as he unzipped his jeans. I left quickly, slamming the door shut.

"If my teeth aren't perfect, it's all your fault." I said.

"Oh my god, Len, are you planning on Rin checking your teeth ALREADY?" Oliver asked cheekily.

"SHUT UP." I yelled, thumping on the door. Oliver laughed as I straightened my collar for the gazillionth time. I swear sweat beads were forming on my forehead. I mentally slapped myself. _What the hell are you doing, Len? It's not like you're going to confess to her or anything TODAY. That would be completely and utterly insane, considering how damn tsundere she is..._

"Anyway," Oliver said, strolling out of the bathroom, his sleeves damp from washing his hands clumsily, "I'm thinking I might come visit your school."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, school sounds fun. AND Teto wants me out of the house today." Oliver said, "As long as we don't tell Sonika, no harm done, eh?"

"Oliver, seriously, the place is massive-"

"And we both know I can scream loud enough for someone to find me!" Oliver said happily, flinging his wet sleeves around in circles, "Besides, you totally need me to back you up with Rin."

"Oh hell no." I said, "Besides, I'm not confessing or anything today..."

"Ooo, so you DO like her?" Oliver asked.

I flushed and said nothing, so Oliver got the message.

"Well, she seems pretty fond of you," Oliver said, attempting a small smile, "I don't know if it's just in the friendly way or what, but I think you two would be great together."

"Really?"

"Dude, the BLIND guy thinks you two would be good together; anyone else would back me up if you asked them." Oliver said, "NOW! Do you have a spare uniform?"

"Ah, yeah," I said, going into my room and pulling out a uniform. Oliver went into the bathroom and got changed. He jumped out of the bathroom, doing a little twirl that looked quite girly.

"TA-DA!" Oliver said happily, the sleeves slipping past his hands as all clothes did. The pants were also too long and got caught under his bare feet.

"Do you need shoes?" I asked.

"Shoes are restricting," Oliver said simply, "And I'm FREE! So no. No shoes."

That was Oliver's excuse for going barefoot everywhere; really, it was because back at the orphanage, people used to hide his shoes, or throw them up on powerlines or down the toilet, because Oliver couldn't find them. So he'd just deemed shoes the burden of his existence (with a very dramatic speech) and proclaimed he'd never wear shoes again. So far, he hadn't, and had ended up in hospital fives times for stepping on something.

"Ha, yeah, sure," I said, "Whatever makes your day. So, let's go."

Oliver nodded and followed me down the hall.

"What about Dell?" Oliver asked.

"He said he's sleeping in," I said, pushing the pot plant in the hallway up slightly, swiping the spare car keys out from under it before letting it fall.

"You're driving?" Oliver presumed, "But you drive sloooooow."

"Oh shut up, Oliver," I said, "If you stuff up today, I won't let you come to school for the rest of the week, okay?"

"Yessir!" Oliver said, saluting clumsily as we headed down the stairs. Oliver jumped down every single one like a young child would. He tripped over on the second to last step, his toe getting caught in the pants leg as the toppled over and landed face first on the ground.

"Least it was the last few steps," I said, helping Oliver up, "Less damage."

"Ha..." Oliver said, rubbing his nose as I took his hand and led me towards the car park, "Oh man, I must be jinxed or something."

"Or just accident prone."

"Or that."

I headed towards the car and opened the door. Oliver sprung into the backseat like an excited puppy going to the park, as I climbed in the front.

"Radio, radio, radio," Oliver pestered me, tugged my hair, "RADIO."

"I have to get ready first! Jeez, Ollie, impatient much?"

"Very much so," Oliver grinned in the rear view mirror, "NOW. Radio!"

I flicked the radio on and it landed on a station that was halfway through playing 'Magical Neko Len Len'. I turned purple and Oliver died laughing in the backseat.

"How did you do that?" I asked, "How did you make that come on?"

"Oh maaaaan that's bloody hysterical!" Oliver cracked up. His accent became thicker when he laughed or yelled, "So bloody hysterical!"

"Oh shut up," I said, muttering to myself under my breath. I reversed out of the car park and Oliver shrieked, obviously not expecting it. He was already seatbelted though. I sped off down the way, changing the radio station to something that didn't play stupid, embarrassing music like that.

_"...News just in, a police officer's daughter was recently attacked in a shooting attempt on the house. She is currently in a stable condition at the hospital. The girl is the daughter of Chief Akita..."_

I froze, going over a red light, causing quite a few people to honk their horns at me.

"Len?" Oliver asked.

"Holy shit, I think Rin got shot."

[...]

I sat in algebra, my thoughts elsewhere. I kept staring out the window, wondering if Rin was okay; if it was her that got shot. There was always the possibility it was Neru and not Rin that was attacked, but I couldn't stand not knowing. Rumours had spread, of course, that it was Rin that had been attacked, and that was why she was absent.

Piko said he had no idea, and that was something, considering he was kind of a gossip king. Then again, he was more interested in making up plans to hit on one of the girls that helped out in the office.

"Len, are you paying attention?" Megpoid asked, turning to me with a pointed look.

"Uh," I said, looking up. Megpoid rose his eyebrows and I sighed.

"Sir, I need to go-"

"Len are you in here?!" Someone yelled, banging the door open. Oliver entered and a few girls exchanged looks, murmuring about his clothes. Oliver tripped over his pants at the exact wrong time, falling onto the floor.

"Excuse me, but if you want autographs, you have to wait until break-" Megpoid started.

"Len, seriously, if you here, listen to me," Oliver said, getting up, "I have a message from Shion-sensei- dude, stop pushing me out of the door I'm trying to talk- LEEEEN stop this crazy teach!"

"Uh, sir, I know the idiot," I said.

"Hey, I know the word for idiot, idiot," Oliver seethed and I smirked.

I got up, walking over to Oliver, "What is it?"

"Shion-sensei wants to see you in his office; something about Rinny-kins~" Oliver sung, causing me to go pink.

"Uh, thanks." I said, turning to Megpoid, "Shion-sensei has requested me in his office, I'll come back later."

Megpoid nodded, as Oliver stole my seat, trying to introduce himself to Piko. I headed off down the hallway and off to the office on the other side of campus. I pushed into the office to find Haku slumped on her desk, groaning.

"Hang-over?" I presumed.

She gave a small nod, before groaning again.

"Yowane-sama, I thought I told you to lay off the drinks! You won't be able to work at this rate!" A girl said, appearing from one of the offices, causing a large box of items and placing them on the desk in front of Haku, who groaned again.

The girl looked up and saw me, "Oh... H-Hi. Um..." Her midnight blue eyes lowered to her feet, "Um... If you want to go in to see Shion-sensei, you can... I'll write a pass for you."

"Thanks," I said. The girl turned, her dark purple locks bobbing as she took a pass from the desk with a thick, black marker and scrawled down her name.

"I just need your name," She said.

"Len Kagamine," I said. She gasped, dropping the marker onto the floor in surprise.

"Oh! I didn't realise! Sorry!" She said, picking up the marker, "Um... Yes, here's your pass."

She handed me the slip of paper and I nodded a thanks, before heading down to the principal's office. I knocked on the doors.

"Shion-sensei? You wanted to see me?" I asked. The doors opened, and I found Kaito sitting by his desk, looking serious for once. A blonde-haired man sat in one of the two seats opposite Kaito, his hair messy and his eyes with large rings under them.

"Ah, Len-san, please, come in." Kaito smiled as I entered. I took a seat next to the other man, who looked a bit stressed.

"This is Police Chief Akita," Kaito explained, "Akita-san, this is Len Kagamine."

"I know who he is," Chief Akita yawned.

"So, Len, you may be wondering why I beckoned you. It's about Rin." Kaito said, "As I'm sure you heard, one of the Akita girls was attacked late last night, on her way back from a local downtown cafe."

_Neru_, I concluded.

"Obviously, this wasn't Rin. However, Rin is also to in hospital due to wounds to her stomach." Kaito said, "Reports from the nurse office say you spent two hours taking care of Rin after school, before dropping her off at home and going home. I was just wondering if you knew who'd hurt Rin."

"I honestly wish I knew," I sighed, "She wouldn't tell me."

"Me either," Chief Akita also sighed, "Rin's stubborn, she doesn't just tell people these kind of things. She also doesn't accept help easily, so it's something saying you were able to help her for two hours before she requested to go home."

"She didn't," I said, flushing slightly, "I insisted she go home, otherwise she'd never get any rest."

Chief Akita smiled, "Good man."

"Len, do you have any suspicions of who could've hurt Rin?" Kaito asked, "Because if you have just the smallest of ideas, we'd definitely like to hear them."

"She said that some guys beat her up in an alley," I said, "Brothers of some girls who got suspended because of her."

"Ah," Kaito said, "I know the girls you're talking about. Lily, Cul and Ia; they were suspended for breaking Rin's nose."

"Wait, when did this happen?" Chief Akita asked, "And why the hell didn't she tell me?"

"Last Sunday," I explained, "I stopped the boys, so nothing truly horrible happened."

Chief Akita sighed, before smiling, "I suppose I ought to thank you for keeping my girl out of trouble, eh?"

I smiled back before turning to Kaito, "So, you think possibly those three girls; Lily, Cul an Ia, could've done it?"

"Possibly," Kaito said, "But we don't know."

"I'll find out," I said, "Give me two days and I'll find out."

The two men didn't look convinced, "You can't hurt them, you know."

"I know," I said, "But Lily's my girlfriend. That ought to count for something."

[...]

As the bell went again, the students flooded out of class, Piko exiting with Oliver clinging to his leg.

"Take me to Len," Oliver said, "Take me to Leeeeen."

"Len, help!" Piko yelled, "This freaky boy won't let go of my leg!"

I laughed, "Oliver, stop, jeez."

Oliver bounced up, running over to me and clinging to my arm.

"You were right, this is a dumb idea, too many people, too much space... I'm so looooost." Oliver wailed, "TAKE ME HOOOOME."

"You have to stay the whole day... Jeez..." I said, ruffling his hair affectionately, "Hey! Piko!"

Piko turned from where he was going off.

"What? I have to go ask Celeste out, you realise." Piko said, pouting slightly, "She's only free every second lunch."

"I need to know some stuff about Lily, Cul and Ia," I said. Piko gave me a look.

"Why?" Piko asked, "You're dating Lily already."

"I just need to," I said, "What can you tell me about them?"

"Well, Lily has an elder brother who dropped out of school last year," Piko said, "It's rumoured he's into drugs, and heaps of people have seen him loitering around the bar. He's in a motorbike gang with Cul's elder brother as well. Cul's brother has been arrested for assault before, when he knocked a girl out cold with a punch. He got expelled from Crypton two years ago."

"And Ia?" I asked.

Piko sighed, "I'm Ia's twin brother. Our elder brother hangs around with the motorbike gang often, and I'm afraid to say he's quite violent."

"Oh," I said, "I'm sorry, I suppose..."

"It's fine," Piko smiled slightly, "Also, my brother didn't come home last night; just in case that helps you with whatever you're looking into."

I nodded, thanking Piko.

"What's that all about?" Oliver asked.

"I need to go talk to my girlfriend," I explained.

"Ooo, finally breaking up with her, eh?" Oliver asked.

"I just need to talk to her," I said, pushing Oliver off of my leg and jogging down the hall. Oliver was wailing back in the crowd and everyone was trying to shut him up. I pushed into the cafeteria, stumbling a bit and looking around. Lily sat with a red-haired girl, and a light pink haired girl in the corner of the cafeteria.

I walked over and Lily smiled.

"Kagamine-sama, I'm so glad you could make it-"

"Did you hit Rin?" I asked bluntly. _Oh good work, Len. Good work._

"Who?" Lily frowned.

"Rin Akita," I explained, "The girl who was my guide in the first week. Top of the class, about this tall, blonde hair, blue eyes. Did you hit her?"

"Oh, _her_," Lily spat with disgust, "Why would I waste my time with her?"

"Because you're jealous," I said.

Lily laughed, "Of? Her good grades? Her lack of a social life? Her horrible family life? There's nothing for me to be jealous about, babe. I have you, after all. She doesn't does she?"

"Here's the thing," I said, "You don't have me; not anymore."

Lily's eyebrow quirked, "Are you _breaking up _with me?"

"Yeah, I am," I said, "So just stay away from Rin, okay?"

"You're dumping me for _her_?" Lily said, outraged, "For that nerdy, ugly pig? Why would you date _her_? She's the lowest of the low in this school-"

I ignored her, beginning to walk off.

"Dammit, Kagamine, don't you walk away from me!" Lily screamed, "Come back here!"

[...]

I snuck of school early, taking Oliver with me, since he hated it so much. He wouldn't stop whining as I drove down to the local hospital.

"Hey, wait, where are we going?" Oliver eventually asked, realising we'd been driving for much longer than usual.

"Hospital," I said.

"I'm staying in the car," Oliver decided, folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh fine." I said, as I pulled up in the parking for the hospital. It was a large, white building with lots of windows. I pulled the keys out and exited, locking the door and leaving Oliver inside. I put the keys in my pocket, and headed inside. The waiting room was full of injured people; some with casts over various limbs, others coughing into masks.

The hospital smelt as all hospitals did; sterile. It was the smell Oliver often described as 'the sign you're not dead'. I walked up to the counter, where the receptionist was answering phone calls and talking to other patients.

The patients left, and she turned to me.

"Yes- oh my god... Kagamine-sama..." She gasped.

"I'd like to know Rin Akita's room number, if possible," I said, "I'm a friend of hers and I need to see her."

The receptionist seemed to forget all cares about privacy policies, happily giving me her room number in exchange for an autograph. I signed the piece of paper she'd handed me and smiled.

"Room 33," She explained, before turning to the next person in line. I headed up the stairs of the hospital to the floor Rin was on, finding Room 33.

"Rin?" I called, "Rin, you in there?"

I opened the door and saw a blonde-haired girl laying in bed, staring lazily at the visitor's chair. I closed the door gently.

Her eyes didn't move, still staring blankly at the chair with her hands folded over her stomach.

"Did Lily do this to you?" I asked. She continued to ignore me, staring blankly at the chair, "Rin, dammit, why aren't you answering me?"

She blinked a few times, before finally looking up at me, "Len, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to visit," I explained.

"Go away," She mumbled, her eyes falling back to the visitor chair.

"Did Lily do this to you?" I asked firmly.

"If you question her, she'll just make your life hell," Rin seethed, "If you stand up to her, she'll get her brothers onto you. Just stay out of it, Len. It's my problem; my burden to bear, not yours."

"No," I said firmly, "Rin, pay attention to me, would you? I'm trying to help you-"

"I don't want your help."

"I don't frickin' care if you want it or not," I said, storming over to her. She looked up at me as I blocked her view of the chair, "I'm helping you, whether you like it or not. Because we're friends, and we're supposed to have each other's backs! So I'm going to support you, and have your back, no matter what you say or do. I don't care if you go back to hating me; I'm helping you, okay?"

"Len... I..." She choked, "Dammit, why are you so nice to me?"

"Because," I smiled, "We're friends, right?"

She smiled weakly, "I just don't want you getting hurt, that's all."

"Rin," I said, "I'm the most famous guy in the world at the moment; I doubt Lily can do anything to ruin my life. I'm used to rumours, attempted kidnappings- everything. There's nothing she can do to hurt me."

Her smile weakened even more, until it vanished, "Don't underestimate Lily, really."

I smirked, "Don't underestimate me, Rinny."

"Whatever you say, Lenny," She smiled back. I headed towards the door, looking back at her.

"By the way, what's so special about that chair?" I asked.

Rin flushed, "You'll think I'm stupid."

"I could never think you're stupid," I smiled, flushing a bit myself.

"Well... When I was in hospital once... Luki used to sit next to me and read to me all day and... I dunno, I just wish he still could... You know?" Rin said, flushing a bit. A bit of jealousy chewed at me, but I banished it.

"It's not stupid," I smiled, "It's sweet."

With that, I shut the door, and headed downstairs, before climbing into the car.

"Well that was quick," Oliver said, "I didn't think she'd reject you that fast."

"I didn't make a move on her, Oliver," I said.

"Oh really?" Oliver asked.

"Mhmm," I said, "Now, we're going to the bookstore before going home, okay?"

"Uh, sure?" Oliver said, "Why though?"

"I just need to go find a book," I said, "Something Rin would like."

"Oolala!" Oliver said, "What you planning, Lenny?"

"I'm just going to read to her while she's in the hospital," I said, "Nothing evil about that."

"Read her some soppy love story," Oliver said.

"I'm getting something she'll like," I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever you say, Romeo," Oliver smirked. I pulled up at the bookstore a while after, climbing out and slamming the door, heading inside. Oliver stayed in the back again, as I headed up the stairs of quaint store.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked a receptionist with icy blue hair and crystal blue eyes when she saw me, "Can you recommend something to me? I need to get it as a present for my friend."

"Oh, sure!" The receptionist said happily, "What's your friend like?"

"Her name's Rin, Rin Akita, have you heard of her?"

"Ah, yeah, Rin comes over all the time!" She said happily, "I'll show you something she's bound to love."

The girl beckoned me through the layers of bookshelves to the back aisle, pointing to a book up high, but too short to reach it.

I reached up and grabbed it and she smiled.

"Ah, thank god we have tall people, eh?" She smiled, "This is 'Story Of Evil'. It's pretty tragic, but a good read. I think she'd like it."

"Ah, thanks," I said, before giving her another look, "Do I know you from somewhere, by the way?"

"Oh, yes, probably," She said, "I attend Crypton High. My name's Mizune. Mizune Minamiki."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled, taking the thick book in my hands, "Just curious, but what's this about?"

"Ah! It's about a treacherous princess, who ruled over her kingdom with an iron fist," Mizune explained, "Eventually, she was over thrown, but if I tell you anymore, it'll give away the story."

Mizune tapped the side of her nose knowingly, "I think Rin would find it a good read."

"Thanks for your help," I smiled.

"Welcome!" She said, saluting childishly and taking my money. I jogged down to the car with the book in my hands, slipping into the seat.

"What you get?" Oliver asked.

"A tragedy."

"Well THAT'S not going to turn her on, now is it?"

**I just had to end it there. xD Lol Ollie, what am I going to do with you? Remember, all reviews highly appreciated! A message to all my disappointed CiRCuS MoNSTeR fans: I WILL rewrite it. **

**Also, my next fan fiction will depend on what you guys think! Go to my profile, read through my 'Future Fan Fictions' and vote for your two favourite ideas! Thanks very much :) **

**I'm holding the vote, because your opinions matter :3**


	12. Chapter 12 - Story Of Evil

**A/N: Hello, to all readers, new and old, dedicated and not-really-interested, signed-in and anonymous! Thanks for reading chapter 12 of Not A Fan; my most popular fic yet. ;)**

**Also, thanks to Mugi-chan for also checking out 'Entwined Souls' :3 **

**Remember, you can vote for what category/fiction I should write next! Just head over my profile page; all the details are listed there. **

Even while performing on stage that night, in front of hundreds of fangirls and media cameras, my thoughts were always elsewhere. They were always off with Rin, who was sitting in hospital, probably asleep.

I sat in my dressing room after the concert, towel draped over my shoulders from dancing for two hours straight, dressed in my black hoodie, jeans and white shirt. I pulled a few roses - or whatever it was that they'd thrown at me - from my hair. How did they even manage to get my hair from down there?

I stretched, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. I bent down to wear my bag was, taking out the 'Story of Evil' and turning it over to the back, reading about the story. An evil princess, reigning at the top of her kingdom at the age of fourteen. I turned it back over, gazing at the two blonde kids on the cover.

The girls hair fell to her shoulders, her blue eyes looking away, her dress with black frills and yellow material. The boy looked more like a servant, with a similar face to hers, his hair pulled back, his blue eyes gazing away sadly.

Scrawled on the cover for advertising, was the line 'If we were to be reborn, I'd hope we'd meet again'. Why did I have the suspicion this was a romance more than a tradegy?

"Kagamine-sama!" Teto said happily, bursting through the door. I almost dropped the book in fright; I'm glad I didn't, because my toes would be thoroughly squashed if I had. The book was massive, after all.

"What?" I asked.

"And where have your manners gone?" Teto huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, but forgetting about it seconds later, "Anyway, we sold out! Isn't that great?! Every single seat was taken; even those crappy ones at the back with bad sound and visual quality! Isn't that great?!"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Really amazing. We should do something to celebrate, like, let me take the day off school tomorrow." I suggested.

Teto glared at me, "Why? Do you have a test or something, Len?"

"No," I said, "It's just, Rin's in hospital, and I wanted to spend the day with her. That's all. I thought she might get fairly lonely being in that room all the time by herself."

"Ah, fine," Teto shrugged, "But that's the _only _time you're taking off school, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," I said, "Thanks, Teto-chan."

"You're welcome, Kagamine-sama!" Teto squealed, throwing her arms around my neck. Honestly...

"Good work, Len," A voice said in the doorway. Sonika was standing there, Oliver clinging to her leg like he always used to back at the orphanage. Bad habit, I suppose.

"Thanks," I smiled, "I didn't realise you were attending."

"Back stage pass," Sonika explained with a wry smile, waving a plastically sealed pass, "I have my ways."

I smiled, "Wow, everyone's here, eh?"

"I'm obviously the most important one," Oliver said, causing Sonika and I to smile at him.

"Yeah, that's why you're hiding behind Sonika." I smirked.

Oliver stepped forward boldly, tripping over and falling onto Teto, who squealed. Sonika and I both laughed, moving forward to help Teto and Oliver onto their feet.

"You're so clumsy, Ollie," Sonika said affectionately, ruffling his hair, "Quite adorable."

"I'm not cute!" Oliver denied, "Stop saying I'm cute..."

"But you are!" I said, squidging his cheeks, "Cutie little Ollie-kins!"

"I'M NOT CUTE!" Oliver wailed childishly, causing Sonika and I to smile.

"Yus you are," Sonika said.

"Oh shut up," Oliver pouted adorably, folding his arms over his chest. I yawned sleepily, glancing at the watch on Sonika's wrist.

"Oh wow, eleven already?" I said, "Past Ollie-kins bed time~"

"I don't have a bed time!" Oliver denied.

"Yes you do," Sonika said, "And now you're getting all snarly. I think it's bout right for sleeping times now, don't you?"

"Definitely," I agreed, causing Oliver to protest more as we grabbed his arms and soldiered him down the back of the stage towards the limo waiting for us. Teto followed bouncily, humming 'Spice!' to herself as she went.

Teto opened the back door for us, and we both chucked Oliver in. He flew into the other door, getting up and pouting miserably. I slipped in the back and Sonika waved goodbye, as Dell took the driver's seat.

He pulled out into the road, driving like the maniac he is. Teto shrieked occasionally, whereas Oliver whooped whenever we halted so fast the tires screeched on the tarmac. I just sat there, looking down at the front cover of 'Story of Evil'.

"We're here," Dell said, puffing on his cigarette as he exited the car, slamming the door closed afterwards. Oliver sprung out happily, tripping over onto the pavement. Dell managed to catch him before he knocked a passerby over. I got out, lugging my bag with me.

"I'm beat," I said, "I'm prepared to hit the hay the moment we get up there."

"Same," Dell yawned.

"You're tired?" Oliver inquired in Japanese, "Ah, that must be why you drove so slowly."

"Slowly?" Teto asked, in worry, "That was slow? Oh, my poor Kagamine-sama, what I must put you through every day..."

"I drive myself to school when Dell sleeps in," I told her, "So I'm fine most days."

"You always steal my car," Dell shot me a look, "I need that car to get around."

I poked out my tongue, "You're old; get a bus or something."

Dell started ranting me about how he's not elderly, simply almost-mid-aged. He pointed out that all the sorts of things that are fashionable today were around when he was my age, meaning we weren't that different. I replied with lots of smirking.

"Off to bed, you two," Dell said gruffly as we entered the hotel room. We nodded and hurried off to the bedroom. I undressed and got in my pyjamas as Oliver just fell face first on his bed.

"Len, I'm craving chocolate," Oliver whined.

"Oh shit," I said, "You are?"

Oliver nodded weakly, "We all know what that means..."

"You're going to sleep walk tonight," I groaned, "I'll tell Teto to lock the knives and valuables in bubble wrap."

"Pfft," Oliver said, "I'll pay for it, don't sweat it." He yawned, "I may actually be too tired to sleep walk."

"Impossible," I smirked, "We all know that you always sleep walk when you crave chocolate. Weird habit, mind you."

"This is why chocolate should class as a government weapon." Oliver moaned, smothering his face in the pillow, "It makes people do crazy things."

"No, Oliver, you should be classed a government weapon," I said, "You're the one that keeps on 'accidentally' walking into the female bathroom."

Oliver laughed darkly, "But they scream~"

"Dude, no. Just no." I said and Oliver giggled.

"Don't deny you'd do it if you had no dignity or social life," Oliver said.

"Pervert," I said.

"I'm blind. I see no evil." Oliver said.

"You sure do speak a lot of evil though," I screwed up my face, as I dived onto my bed, "Oliver go turn the light off."

"No," Oliver said, "I don't know where it is; besides, I don't need it off."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll give you chocolate."

"...You want the world to end tonight, don't you?"

"I'm just too lazy."

"But you gotta get up to get me the chocolate."

"Nah, I'll give it to you in the morning- Oliver?" I asked, and Oliver replied with a low snore. I moaned, getting up and getting up and flicking the light off, before diving back under the covers happily.

[...]

I woke up to the complete chaos that follows after one of Oliver's sleep walking attacks. Pillows ripped in half, floating around with stuffing all over my face, sheets thrown around, the door half open and god knows what else disaster waiting ahead. I buried my face in my pillow, ignoring the fluff in my hair and waiting for something - anything - to happen.

"OH MY GOD!" Teto shrieked, and I knew that 'something' had happened.

I got up, slouching down the hall. The kitchen door was open, and I knew that 'Oliver the Chocolate Monster' had struck again. I peeked my head around the door, finding Teto standing before a smashed glass bowl that she'd dropped in fright. Oliver was curled up under the counter in a tight ball, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. Meanwhile, the dining chairs were toppled over, milk running out of the fridge, and food strewn everywhere.

"Morning," I said grumpily, edging away from the smashed glass and jumping onto the counter, "Oliver, wake up."

"Mmm," Oliver mumbled, "Go away..."

"Ollie-kins, what you dreaming 'bout?" I asked cheekily.

"Unicorns..." Oliver murmured and I sniggered to myself.

"What the hell happened here?" Teto asked in shock.

"Oliver does this whenever he's really tired and craving chocolate; it's pretty routine," I said, "Ollllie-kiiiins, wakey waaaaakey!"

"Nooooooo," Oliver groaned, a thump sounding as he banged his head into the side of the cupboard, "Owwwww..."

"Are you up now, Ollie-kins?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up..." Oliver groaned, rubbing his head, "Holy shit, I did it again. How much damage did I do this time?"

"Spilt milk, smashed glass, toppled chairs, ripped pillows- the usual." I said calmly, "I'd advise you to stay where you are, because dear Teto just dropped a glass bowl by the counter, so you'd scar your feet... Again."

"Mmm, yeah," Oliver yawned, "Not a good idea. Anyway, you're staying home, right?"

"I'm going to hang out with Rin," I said and Oliver whistled suggestively, so I slammed the cupboard door shut on him.

"LEEEEEN!" He yelled, realising it couldn't be opened from the inside. I yawned, stretching and leaving, going to my room. I dressed into an orange hoodie, with black jeans and took a brown bag with the 'Story of Evil' inside, heading downstairs, taking the spare key from under the pot plant.

I headed down to the lobby, then out into the car park. I hopped in Dell's car - stealing it for the day again - and backing out of the car park. I drove down the street, my thoughts still constantly on Rin.

My heart was pounding in my chest; was I really in love with her? I couldn't stop thinking and worrying about her; even after I'd called and told Kaito it was Lily bothering her, even after he said he'd deal with her. Because Rin was right; those boys had almost had her last time. Chances are, I wasn't going to be walking down the street when it next happened.

Sure, if I never left her side again, she'd be safe, but I had to leave in two months time, no matter what. _Leave her behind... _It only just occured to me, that in two months time, I'd never see Rin again. My heart sank; how was that going to be possible? The first girl I'd ever fallen for, and I'd have to leave her. I supposed, some time with her was better than none, by why couldn't I have met her after my world tour? Back in Tokyo? Why did she have to live so far away?

A car honk brought me back to my surroundings, as I realised I was holding everyone up by the traffic lights. I sped across, heading towards the hospital. I couldn't just come out and say I loved her; she'd freak, hit me and tell me to never speak to her again; even if she _did _like me. A surprise kiss would work out even worse than that. So, really, I'd just have to be friends with her until I figured something out; hopefully, it would just happen.

Highly unlikely, but hopefully.

I pulled up in the hospital car park, killing the engine and stepping out into the car park, heading into the hospital. I told one of the receptionists I was visiting, before heading up to Room 33. I knocked on the door three times, and waited for a response.

"Who's there?" Rin eventually replied.

"Santa Claus," I replied, causing Rin to giggle slightly.

"It's not Christmas, baka," She said, "And come in."

I turned the door handle, stepping in before closing the door gently behind me. Rin looked a lot better; her cheeks were brighter, her eyes less droopy; she looked full of energy.

"I don't recall today being a pupil free day," Rin teased, a wry smile on her face, "So why are you here mister?"

"To make sure you don't die of boredom," I explained dramatically, seating myself in the visitor's chair beside her bed.

"Oh, and how do you s'pose you stop that from happening?" Rin asked, "If anything, you bore me more."

"Oh shut up," I said, "My prescence alone thrills you."

"Pfft," Rin rolled her eyes, "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"I actually brought you a book," I said, "For you to read while you're here."

"Oh, so you're just going to sit there like a buffoon while I read?" Rin smirked.

"Nooo," I mocked, "I'm going to read to you."

"I'm not five," Rin retorted.

"Do I look like I care?" I smirked, "Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"No, what would be fun is if you walk around the room for fifteen minutes pretending to be a chicken," Rin said, "That would be fun-ny."

"Aren't you supposed to be sick?" I glared at her and she grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to be a school?" She retorted playfully, before flicking my ponytail, "Why don't you cut your hair? You look so girly."

I shrugged, "I've always had it long."

"Shota," She giggled.

"Rin, go home, you're drunk," I said.

"Technically, I'm drugged," Rin said, "Biiiig difference."

"Not really," I said, "You're overly hyper either way."

Rin giggled again, propping herself up on her knees, "Did you know that if I sit like this long enough, I'll puke up blood? Awesome, right- heeeeey."

I lowered her back down into her bed, not wanting to make her hurt herself.

"How the hell do they keep you out of trouble all the time?" I sighed.

"They don't," Rin smiled, "I'm often out cold when they come back in. Nothing hurts, so I don't care."

"Rin, seriously, be serious for a few seconds-"

"Pfft, hypocrite," Rin stuck her tongue out at me, "You're never serious."

"I am when I need to be," I said. Rin tugged my collar, pulling my faces inches from hers. I felt the heat spread across my cheeks.

"You don't need to be sensible right now, Shota boy," She smiled flirtatiously, "No-one's around, you know. Just us."

"Rin, seriously, you're not thinking straight," I said, pushing her arms away.

"Oh come ooooon, Len," Rin said, "You're no fun anymore; go back to your old, crazy self."

"If I do that, you'll be pregnant and minutes away from death by this afternoon," I growled under my breath, so she couldn't hear me. Instead, she was jumping childishly on her knees.

"I'm just excited to see you, Lenny," She smiled at me, "You're so cute with your little, girly ponytail!"

"Shall I read to you?-"

"I don't want to read a boring book," Rin said, reaching out of the bed and grabbing me again, pulling me back down to the bed with her. She breathed on my face, putting her forehead to mine, lips barely centimetres apart.

"I want to play," She smiled, blowing on my face and giggling. _Damn control yourself and pull away... Now. Pull away now Len._

I pulled away, listening to that inner voice for once. Rin whined.

"I'm going to go ask them to stop putting you on whatever you're on," I said, "It's making you seriously loopy."

"Oh come off it," Rin rolled her eyes, "I'm not thaaaat bad. And you totally want me; I can see it in your eyes."

_This isn't Rin, this is just a drugged, insane version of her. Hopefully she won't remember any of this, and if she does, will be too tsundere to bring it up. Heck, she'll definitely be too tsundere to bring it up. She's the very embodiment of tsundere..._

"You need sleep," I told her firmly.

"No~ I need you~" She sung sweetly.

"No, you need sleep." I gave her my best attempt at a death glare, "Sleep, or I leave."

"If you leave, you go back to school," She smirked, "And you get a decent education, so be my guest."

"Oh fine," I said, "I'm just going to go down to the kitchen and get a snack or something," I said. I headed out the door, closing it gently behind me before heading to the public kitchen, where they were selling a packet of biscuits for 500 yen (Roughly 5 Australian dollars).

I took the packet of biscuits, smiling thankfully and heading back up to Rin's room. I eased the door open and found her out cold, hand falling between the bars, eyes drooped closed, breathing lightly. Her lips were slightly parted, and I couldn't help but smile to myself as I lowered myself into the seat next to her. I almost didn't want to eat or breathe in fear I might wake her.

She looked peaceful asleep, like she didn't care about anything anymore. I smiled to myself, my hand straying towards her and pushing one of her bangs from her eyes. She mumbled happily, rolling over. I began pulling my hand away, but she reached up and grabbed it in her sleep.

I flushed; oh god, what if she woke up? Her fingers released my hand and I pulled it away slowly, holding it with my other hand, feeling my cheeks burn.

[...]

"Mmmm." Rin stirred half an hour later, yawning and stretching, before looking at me, "You're still here, eh?"

"I told you, I just went to get biscuits." I said.

"And you didn't save any for me?" She asked, feigning hurt, "Mean much?"

I shrugged. Rin sat up, rubbing her head sluggishly, before she kind of jolted.

"Oh man..." She said, "Before..." She went a bright shade of red.

"I'm surprised you can still remember," I smirked.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, "You better not have..."

"No, I didn't _rape _you if that's what you're wondering. I didn't even kiss you." I rolled my eyes, "The award for most mistrusting friend of the year goes to you."

"Oh..." She said, "Well... Thanks... For not taking advantage of me."

"You're welcome," I said, "Now, do you want to see what book I got you?"

"Ah! Y-yeah!" Rin said nervously. I bent down, taking the thick book from my bag and handing it to Rin, who brushed dust off the cover.

"Oh wow!" Rin said happily, "I know this story! Neru used to read this to me when I was really little; she ended up giving up on it though; it was too long for her. I've always wondered how it ended." Rin looked at me, beaming, before throwing her arms around my neck and almost falling out of her bed. I blushed.

"Thanks, Len!"

"Y-you're welcome," I said sheepishly, as she pulled away and flipped open the book, sitting on her knees and looking at the pages. She then looked at me.

"Well, since you're here," She smiled, blushing slightly, "How about you read it to me?"

"Sure," I said, taking the big book from her and reading it aloud.

[...]

_Long, long ago, there was a kingdom of great treachory. The king and queen reigning over the kingdom were greedy and selfish people, who ruled over the kingdom with an iron fist. _

_When the king and queen passed away, their one and only heir, their daughter, took control of the kingdom. The young girl was only fourteen, as greedy and selfish as her parents before her. However, if her parents had ever possessed knowledge and wisdom, she had not inherited it. The princess was spoiled, with elegance unimaginable to the peasants and people of the land she ruled. She had whatever she desired; and nothing could stop her._

_"This is a peasant's game," She told her minister, standing in front of the waves, lapping against the sandy beach at the edge of one of the kingdom's oldest towns. Her minister, who had a similar face to her own, stood in the water, water lapping at his feet, where his pants were rolled up. The glass bottle containing a small parchment floated down the currents near him. He smiled, his azure eyes lighting up._

_"But it's a tradition, princess," He told her, "All the visitors to the town drop bottles containing parchments into the sea; and on that parchment, they write their greatest desire - their greatest wish." _

_"It's just a stupid peasant's legend," Riliane told Allen, who's smile stayed as stable as ever, "Someone of my importantance has no need for silly games like these." _

_"So, you're not interested in what I wished for in the slightest?" Allen smiled at her sweetly, "Not at all?"_

_Riliane gave him a look, before sighing in defeat, "Oh, okay. What did you wish for?" _

_"I wished for your happiness," Allen smiled, "I wished that you will always be happy."_

_Riliane smiled slightly, but spoke with her usual harsh tone, "Is that all? That's a pathetic wish."_

_"Ah, but, it's said honest wishes always come true," Allen said, "And my wish is perfectly truthful. There is nothing more I want than for princess Riliane to be happy forever." _

_"It's still stupid." Riliane huffed. Allen smiled, pushing the waves towards the bottle to make it travel further and further out to sea, before pulling up his trousers and walking up to the sandy shores. _

_"Shall we go home, my lady?" Allen asked, dusting his feet off and slipping them back into his shoes._

_"Yes. It's too dirty out here, I'm afraid the frills of my dress are getting sandy." Riliane said, lifting up her skirt as they headed up the stairs into the town. The Country of Blue was where they were staying; it was a country of the most beautiful of rivers and lakes, spreading over the vast continent. However, the Country of Blue was still apart of the Yellow Empire that Riliane ruled. So, she thought to herself proudly, as they made their way across the beautifully paved road, I own this place._

_Riliane stopped abruptly as she spied a carriage down the road, Allen stopping by her side. The horses were trotting at a gentle pace, and Riliane spied a man in the carriage. A blue-haired man, with beautiful locks framing his face and a gentle smile was inside, a scarf flowing around his neck. _

_"What is his name?" Riliane gasped, upon sighting the man._

_"I do not know, princess," Allen informed her._

_"I must learn of his name."_

[...]

"Um, excuse me?" A sheepish voice said. I looked up from the pages, seeing a nurse poke her head through the door, "Visiting hours are over."

"Ah, okay," I said, closing the book and leaving it on Rin's bedside, "I'll come down in a few seconds."

The nurse nodded, before ducking back out of the room and closing the door on her way.

"Ah, I suppose you're not coming tomorrow," Rin said.

"I'll come after school," I promised.

"You don't have to," Rin told me, "You can hang out with Oliver or Piko."

"No, Piko's got extra computer studies on Wednesdays," I explained, "And Oliver's annoying as hell."

"I'm sure he'd be fine if you took him to the arcade or something." Rin said.

"That wouldn't go down to well; after all, he's blind." I said and Rin looked mildly surprised, but said nothing.

"If you don't want me, I won't come," I said.

"Don't be stupid," She smirked, "We're friends, Len. Of course I'd want to hang out with you."

I smiled, "Well, night then, princess."

"Oh don't call me that."

I laughed, before exiting through the door and heading home.

**I have got to stop putting song references in this xD **

**I HAVE 100 REVIEWS ON THIS SERIES! OH MY GOOD GUMI! *flails* Thank you all so much! I'm glad that you all read my fan fiction, and astonished that I had international readers who use GOOGLE TRANSLATE to read chapters! Thank you all so much for your support! I also have had quite a few votes on my poll located on my profile page, and the poll will be closed when I finish this fan fiction! ;) **

**Also, I'm thinking of holding a contest, in which the winner gets a one-shot of their favourite couple. Details will be in the next chapter (probably). Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Passing

**A/N: I think I have an idea for what to do for the contest~ Details listed at the end of the chapter! Btw, thanks for the votes ;) So far, 'Poker Face' is winning, with 'Sweet, Sweet Aisu' coming up behind. Not that that matters, what matters is the AMAZING amount of followers I now have.**

**I have 42 followers, and 28 favourites! As well as 3 communities and over 4,000 views! -faints-.**

**Thank you all so very much! T^T Especially the fans that have read not only Not A Fan, but also Crimson War. You guys are the best :3**

"Len, get up, Len, get up," Oliver chirped, "LEEEEEEEEN."

He was jumping on the foot of the bed, causing me to bounce in my half sleep.

"Go away," I mumbled, "I'm dreaming of something nice."

"Well, stop dreaming about Rin and wake up!" Oliver told me, rocking my shoulder.

I growled at him, "Stop being perverted."

"But I'm right, aren't I?" Oliver smirked, "Now get uuuuuup!"

He tugged my sheets off, throwing them to the other side of the room. I instinctively curled up into a ball as the cold made the hairs on my arms stick up.

"Not c-cool dude," I shivered.

"Your fault for sleeping shirtless," Oliver teased, before flicking my nose, "Now get up, or I go get the spray bottle."

I shot up instantly. Back in the orphanage, Oliver was well-known for spraying people with a bottle of freezingly cold water to wake you up. Everyone dreaded being his roommate; luckily, he liked me, and had never resorted to spraying me.

"You're damn evil," I hissed as Oliver laughed hysterically.

"What happened to me being adorable?" Oliver asked.

"Oh shut up," I said, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and grabbing my clothes. I headed into the bathroom, taking a nice, warm shower before dressing in my uniform. I already knew Rin would be absent, meaning I'd be spending the day with Piko.

"I'm gonna be so bored," Oliver complained.

"Jump on the bed or something," I told him dismissively, so he threw himself around my leg. I kept walking, dragging him along with me.

"FOOOOOOD!" Oliver yelled, "I NEED FOOOOOOD!"

"Go bother Teto for food then," I said, "I'm leaving."

"Why?" Oliver faked a sob, putting on his puppy dog face.

"Because you woke me up and I'm late. Now let go." I said, gently pushing him off of my leg. Oliver gave in, falling off of my leg and sitting stubbornly in the hall, with his arms crossed.

I rolled my eyes, taking the keys from the pot plant and heading down the stairs. When I arrived in the car park, I found another car looking quite similar to Dell's and laughed. He'd gone ahead and gotten a new car, meaning he'd given me his old one.

I threw open my car's door, slipping inside and slamming the door shut, turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the car park. As I drove to school, I kept the radio on for news. After hearing of Neru's shooting, I had to listen out.

Unfortunately, it was just a stupid talk show, discussing my upcoming concerts. I flicked off the radio as I turned into the school parking lot and headed to class.

[...]

I sat in the one music class I didn't share with Piko, as Wednesdays were apparently Piko's computer day, in which he spent the majority of his lessons programming and practising maths.

I didn't know anyone, so I decided to sit at the back of the class. As soon as a group of girls entered the classroom, they saw a spare spot next to me and started fighting over who got to sit there.

In the midst of their fighting, a boy strode past them and sat in the seat next to me, causing the girls to rage at him. He had his ear phones in and was ignoring them. I raised my eyebrows at the guy, but said nothing.

"Class, please take a seat," Kamui ordered as he entered the classroom, causing the girls to groan and take seats away from me.

"Uh, thanks," I said to the guy.

"No big deal," The guy smiled slightly.

I nodded back as Kamui started handing out sheet paper, telling us about our next assignment.

"You're next assignment is to write a song," Kamui explained, "It can be on any instrument, or just a song. Songs will be due next Wednesday. It can be about anything - keep it appropriate, obviously - and any genre."

The boy next to me took his sheet, and stared at it, tapping his pencil to a rhythm.

"I'll give you this lesson to work on your songs." Kamui said, "But besides that, it must come out of your own time. You may go use one of the school's instruments, oh, and you can pair up with someone for the assignment."

I took my sheet, heading off to the practise room with the piano, sliding the door open. No-one was there yet, so I put my sheet in place, a pencil tucked behind my ear.

I stretched my fingers over the keys and played the first melody that came into my mind. It was beautiful and delicate, and I found myself humming a harmony to it. I scrawled down the notes as I went, as well as the harmony's notes.

"Can I use this place too?" A voice asked. I turned, seeing Mizune enter.

"Oh!" She said, a bit surprised, "I didn't realise it was you. You can play pretty well."

"Thanks," I smiled, before turning back to the sheet and replaying the last few lines, before scrawling down some more notes.

"Can you help me?" Mizune asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said, "But I'm not coming up with a tune for you."

"Understandable," Mizune smiled, "I already have a tune in mind, with some lyrics, but I can't really play anything well enough to get the notes."

I nodded, "You hum it and I'll play it."

Mizune took a seat on the stool next to me, replacing my sheet with hers. She started humming a song to herself, before I replayed it on the piano. She wrote down the notes I pressed and smiled to me in between.

"Thanks!" She said happily, holding her sheet close to her, "I can go come up with some lyrics now! Sorry for taking up the majority of your time."

She bowed her head ruefully, before bouncing out the doorway. I turned back to my own sheet, beginning to play the melody. I wrote quite a few lines, before ending the song on a few, softer notes. Smiling to myself as I replayed the last few lines and I sighed in relief, just as the bell went.

My stomach grumbled as I turned back to the piano, in hopes of writing down some lyrics. I decided to listen to my grumbling stomach and headed down to the cafeteria.

"Len!" A voice called. I looked up and saw Piko waving to me, so I grabbed a bowl of noodles and hurried over.

Piko was sitting at a table with two others. The girl who helped me in office when Haku was on a hang-over, and the boy who helped me deal with the fangirls. Trust Piko to know the helpful people.

I smiled, taking a seat with the others.

"This is my girlfriend," Piko explained, rubbing the girl's shoulder. Her cheeks tinted red, "Celeste Hikari."

"Nice to meet you formally," I smiled.

"L-like-wise," She stammered, bowing her head.

"Don't be shy," Piko pecked her on the forehead, "Len-kun doesn't bite."

I smiled reassuringly. The boy from my class, with his jet black hair and green highlights, was just listening to our conversation with mild interest while eating his noodles.

"My name's Kalevi Drew," The boy explained, "Just call me Kale."

I nodded and began eating. Piko began chatting about his new computer program, and somehow the subject moved to maths class. Kale began telling us how he had detention after school because of Megpoid blaming a toilet overflowing on him. Celeste simply giggled, whilst Piko noted Kale would already have detention for smashing the window in computer class.

I joined in on the conversation when it turned to everyone's science projects.

"Rin and I are doing a robot," I explained, "She's already made the shell out of some things I bought, and it's able to turn on."

"Nice," Piko said, "What does it run on?"

"Solar power," I explained, "We're debating what it should do. I say it should sing."

"Sing?" Kale frowned, "Isn't that your job?"

I shrugged, "I need back-up vocals, and I'm thinking if we use the robot to help with a fundraising concert for the environment, we may win."

"But lights, microphones and all the equipment aren't very good for the environment," Celeste noted.

"If we use a microphone on batteries and have the concert during the day, it'll work," I said.

"I think it's a good idea," Piko agreed, "Though picking up litter would be better."

"I told Rin that, but she said some idiot would just kick it over."

"Fair point."

"Hmmm..." Kale said, causing us to give him a look.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you and Rin dating?" Kale asked.

I flushed bright red, "NO!"

Piko cracked up laughing instantly, as I went into a rage about how we're 'just friends' and 'she's too tsundere'.

"But you guys would totally be good together," Kale said, "I ship you two all the way."

"Sh-ship?!" I said, "H-hey! We're not f-from an anime!"

"I don't care, I ship you anyway."

"Rin will kill me if you say that!"

"But it's so true-"

"DON'T SAY IT!"

"You two are made for each other."

"Don't you get involved, Utatane!"

Celeste was giggling away, whilst Piko was making digs at how I stayed with Rin for two hours after school. I just flushed and decided to ignore them, causing Piko to laugh even more.

"Oh shut up," I said, "You wouldn't like it if you got 'shipped' with someone."

"I ship him with Celeste," Kale said pointedly.

"Who do you ship yourself with?"

"No-one," Kale shrugged, "I mean... No-one possible."

"He absolutely _loves _Miku Hatsune," Piko said, "Your girlfriend~"

"She's not my girlfriend, Miku and I are just friends, we dated once but she dumped me, end of story." I said.

"JEEEEEALOUS!" Piko cried, pointing at Kale, who'd turned a bright shade of red, "You're totally jealous!"

"Shut up, Piko-kun," Kale said.

"Never-" Piko started, but Celeste covered his mouth with her hand.

"He'll shut up." She said, "Sorry about that, Kale-san."

Kale smiled at her, nodding before stretching and getting up, taking his tray with him, "See you guys round."

"Bye, Kale-san!" Celeste said, before releasing Piko, "Don't be mean."

"Sorry." Piko said sheepishly.

"I'm going to go work on my music assignment," I said, standing up, "You two have fun~"

"Len, don't be such a pervert-"

I was already walking away, so I didn't hear the rest of Piko's sentence. I headed off down to the practise rooms and stepped into the piano room, playing the song over and over until I began to sing to words that fit.

I took out my pencil and scrawled the words down on a blank piece of paper:

_Within a veil of the night, the moon illuminates us_

_Seeking the warmth of a strong embrace_

_With white breath and fingers numb from the cold_

_We trace our names in the snow before it melts away_

_"I won't leave you"_

_Was the promise I made_

_Beyond all the hazy white that I can see_

_It returns to nothing_

_I wish the falling powdered snow would land and hide me_

_Staring at your back as you leave, I suppress my tears_

_The snow that falls piles up, swallowing the world and my love_

_Until the day the pain in my heart is gone_

_I'll melt into white_

_The days I spent with you come and go like the changing seasons_

_The last trace of the smile remaining in my memory is so fleeting_

_You are somewhere amongst the crowd_

_My thought of "Don't go" turns into a snowflake_

_I wish the falling powdered snow would fall and hide you_

_The snow and tears that fall are without even sound_

_Snow falls, piling up and swallows you and our past_

_Until the day it finally melts away_

_Don't forget me_

_Fragments of breaking memories trickle down_

_I wish the falling powdered snow would land and hide me_

_A drop of my voice, of my tears fall_

_The snow that piles, swallowing the world and my love_

_Until the day the pain in my heart is gone_

_I'll melt into white_

_"Don't forget me"_

As the bell went again, I put my sheets in my bag and headed off to class.

[...]

After school, I started driving to the hospital, planning on spending quite a few hours with Rin. Also, I wanted to know when she'd get out of hospital; her injury wasn't that serious, and she was getting a lot better every day. Hopefully she'd be at school the next day.

I pulled up in the hospital parking lot and headed inside, explaining to the receptionist I was visiting Rin Akita, before heading upstairs. I was about to open the door, when I heard a few sobs inside.

"Rin?" I called, "Rin, it's me, are you okay?"

No reply; only sniffling. I turned the door handle, stepping in. Rin was curled up in a ball on her bed, tears streaming down her face and dampening the blankets around her. She was hyperventilating in between her sobs, her shoulders constantly juddering.

"Rin?" I asked, closing the door softly and stepping forward.

"L-Len," She stammered, hiccuping and sobbing more. She looked up with red eyes.

"Rin, what's wrong?" I asked. She tried to say something, but instead sobbed loudly. I gave her a gentle hug and she threw herself at me, sobbing in my shoulder.

"Rin?"

"N-Ne-" Rin tried, but just kept sobbing in my neck. I tightened my arms around her, burying my face in her hair and her sobs started becoming quieter. She hiccuped.

"Ne-Neru," Rin stammered, "Sh-she... Sh-she p-p-passed..."

Rin couldn't even finish her sentence before sobbing loudly. Her fingers curled in my shirt as she continued sobbing. I hugged her tightly, knowing exactly what she'd been trying to say.

Neru was dead.

***receives many angry glares from Neru fans* I-I didn't WANT to write it! I had to for the story! For the sake of fluuuuufff! **

**Gomen, Neru-san, gomen. Saddest chapter yet... Poor Rin... Her world's just crashing down around her...**

**On a plus side, Rinto joins the story next chapter, so Rin will have someone else. Besides, Len and Rin are getting pretty close now :3 Romance is sooooooon. I promise.**

**Now, for the contest details to win a one-shot of your favourite couple, fill in this entry form in a review first, and then add your entry. Answer the questions for an entry in your review. Use this entry form:**

**The couple I would like to enter this for is:**

**The reason I support this couple is:**

**My favourite scene of Not A Fan so far has been:**

**Where I think Rin and Len should go on their first ever date:**

**The world's FUNNIEST joke: **

**The world's BEST pick-up line:**

**The world's CORNIEST joke:**

**The WEIRDEST question/request you ever answered:**

**The AWESOMEST thing someone has ever done for you:**

**If you had THREE WISHES they'd be: **

**1.**

**2.**

**3.**

**Thanks for reading! Please use this form and enter the contest! Reasons for the contest is that I want some funny replies ;) **


	14. Chapter 14 - Not Ready To Move On

**A/N: PHEW, no-one killed me for Neru's death. Suppose if you did, I wouldn't be able to write, eh? Well, this is the chapter we've all been waiting for! *wink wink nudge nudge* Thanks for the entries, and um, I'd just like to say it's supposed to be a VOCALOID pairing... Sorry... Um, please post a different couple xD **

**Btw, results of contest announced chapter 18. **

Rin was still crying in my shoulder. She'd calmed, after an hour's time, and was now just hiccuping and sniffling occasionally. My back ached from standing in the same position the entire time, but I didn't move, because I didn't want to disturb her.

"L-Len," Rin sniffed, "Why a-are you so k-kind to me?"

"Because," I smiled, "We're friends, right?"

"Y-y-yeah," She said, "We a-are."

"How many times do I have to tell you that?" I sighed, laughing slightly.

"It's j-just I've h-had other friends, but they h-haven't been like y-you," Rin explained, "They haven't c-cared that much."

"Rin, I swear to god if I find out who hurt your sister, I will hunt them down and kill them," I said, "You know that right?"

"D-don't be stupid," She sniffled, "They have a g-gun. You'd d-die."

"Least I'd died trying-"

"Shut up!" Rin told me, "Don't say that! P-please."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I don't w-want you to d-die," Rin said, "I don't want y-you to leave me."

"I don't want to leave you either," I smiled.

"Th-thanks," Rin mumbled, her arms releasing me, "It can't be comfortable, standing there."

"I don't mind," I smiled at her and she smiled back. She pushed the railing of the bed down and patted the bed next to her. She wasn't drugged.

_Sex in a hospital bed that is hot-_

Oh god, Inner Idiot, no. Just no.

_Admit it. It is._

Shut up.

I banished the thoughts in my head and faint tint on my cheeks, sitting on the bed next to her.

"The pillows are comfy," She told me, so I leant back against them. She was right; for my stiff, aching back it was very comfy.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"How about you read some of the 'Story of Evil'?" Rin asked.

"Sure," I smiled, reaching out and grabbing the heavy book.

[...]

_Riliane spent her days in the elegant palace of Yellow; a huge palace with high walls covered in yellow tiles. Everything about it was yellow, precise and elegant. One particular night, Riliane strolled down the corridors of her majestic palace, gazing up at the paintings of her late parents. _

_"Princess," A voice said. She turned to see Allen behind her, wearing his usual minister clothes. _

_"Yes, Allen?" She asked._

_"Is not it a little late for you to stroll around the palace unguarded?" He asked._

_"I suppose so," Riliane said, turning with her hands folded over her skirt, "You should come with me then, should you not?" _

_Allen walked three steps behind her, as she walked across the marble floor, her heels clicking._

_"Princess, is something bothering you?" Allen asked, "These past few days, you have been awfully distant. You hardly say anything, and you have not attended to the lowering funds of the castle." _

_"A lot of things are bothering me, Allen," She said, "But none of them can be dealt with yet. What of the lowering funds?"_

_"Due to rises in staff upholds, we are losing money. That, and there's a silly revolt going on at the moment" Allen said. _

_"I thought the next actions would be quite blatant then," Riliane said, her voice lowering. _

_Allen said nothing, lowering his head, knowing what words would come from her mouth next. _

_"Squeeze money from the filthy poor," She said, "And as for the people who are opposing me..." _

_She turned, her head dipped, a sly smile on her lips as she stepped forward and took Allen's chin in her fingers, murmuring in his ear._

_"Clean up."_

_Allen winced, knowing exactly what she meant by that. Kill all the peasants involved in the revolt; every single one of them. Their wives and children included. And, as Allen was her trusted minister, and the only one she did not believe to be secretly plotting behind her back, he was to carry out these tasks. Alone. _

_"Yes, princess," Allen nodded. Anything for you. _

_[...]_

_With dirtied hands, Allen walked up the marble stairs of the castle's back entrance. He had left a note to the peasants of the revolt organising a secret meeting to learn of how to enter the castle without being detected; of course, he'd just killed them. All twenty-one of them, with only a sword._

_Allen looked down on the piles of bodies, before dropping his sword and falling to his knees. He clasped his hands together, murmuring prayers to God. Prayers that these innocent men would live happy lives when they awoke in the next life. _

_He felt his stomach twist, as he realised this was not the end of the blood shed. There was still the women and children to come. _

_"I am no executioner," Allen sighed, as a few tears escaped for the fallen families, "But this is my duty, as a traitor to the very God I pray to now." _

_Riliane would surely have him beheaded, had she caught him praying. _

_'There is no such thing as God.' She'd told him many times before, 'Only those humans with power, and those humans without.'_

_Allen stood, heading up through the back of the castle, with blood staining his clothes. He headed to his room, dressing in a new, crisp uniform and hiding his bloodied sword under a pile of clothes, before heading down to the throne room. _

_Riliane was perched upon her throne, gazing down at the messenger she spoke with._

_"You wish to send a message to the Man of Blue from the country across the seas?" The messenger asked. _

_"Yes," Riliane smiled, "Tell him I would like to propose a wedding between himself and I." _

_"A wedding?" The messenger asked, before nodding, "Yes, princess. You may consider it done." _

_"Oh, before you go," Riliane smiled, "Kneel down before me."_

_The messenger kneeled down before Riliane, before scrambling out of the doors of the castle. _

_"Princess," Allen said, edging up to the throne and leaning forward. His crimson splatted blonde bangs fell forward, "It is done."_

[...]

I stopped, because Rin had began to snore gently by my side. Her head fell onto my shoulder as she turned in her sleep, wriggling in the sheets and laying her hand over my chest. I flushed brighter than I ever had as she mumbled in her sleep.

_Oh my fu-_

I am not putting up with your shit, so just shut up.

_You love my shit. Just admit it._

When the hell did you get in my head, Oliver?

_Oliver wishes he were as cool as me._

I decided to ignore the inner voice, and lay the book down on the side of the bedside. My slight moving caused Rin to grab my shirt in a fist and hold me tightly.

_Sexy-_

No. Just no.

_Spoil sport._

I sighed, trying to remove her hand from my chest.

"Don't leave..." She mumbled. She rolled over, her head falling on my chest and I went bright red.

"Mmm..." She lay her hand on my shoulder, snuggling into my chest, "Love..."

_Did she just?... Did she just say she loved me? _

My cheeks went brighter than they ever had in my entire life. _She's asleep, she's asleep, she has no idea what that hell is going on. Calm your fricking nerves Len!_

"Len..." She said quietly, not murmuring anymore, "Did I just say that aloud?..."

"Y-yes," I stammered. Her cheeks felt hot, even through my shirt.

"Well shit." She said with no emotion in her voice, "I just said that aloud."

"I-I don't know what you said," I said.

"Oh don't give me bullshit, Len," Rin said, rolling over onto her side, "I said I love you and you know it."

I went an even deeper shade of red, "As a friend-"

"Stop acting oblivious," Rin sighed, "You know what I mean. And I'm suck a fricking idiot for saying it. We're just friends and I know it's stupid, and you probably like Hatsune, or someone famous and good-looking and rich. Someone who's half decent and not just a nervous wreck of shit like I am-"

"Shut up," I told her firmly. She blinked, looking at me, "Stop saying you're shit. Stop lying to yourself."

She went bright red, "You don't like me, I know you don't."

"You're right, I don't like you," I said, propping myself up on my elbow and leaning over her, "I love you."

"No you don't." Rin said, flushing, "You're only saying that because of Neru, and you're trying to make me feel- Mmm!"

I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers, lowering myself on my elbow and moving my lips against hers. She relaxed, her hands moving up into my hair and threading her fingers through my hair, tugging out my ponytail.

"Convinced yet?" I asked.

"Nowhere near," She smiled as I lowered my lips back to hers. I forced her lips apart with my own, as she shoved me up off of her, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and tilting her head to the side. I kissed her jaw and licked her lips as she groaned slightly.

"Okay, okay, I believe you," She gave in and I smiled, pushing her back down and kissing her again. She held onto me with her arms, licking at my lips before pulling away.

"How long..." She breathed, "How long have you liked me."

"I've liked you since I met you," I said, "I've _loved _you for quite a while now."

She flushed, "I... I realised I liked you yesterday... When you read to me... Just like Luki used to..."

"The only thing that bothers me about that," I said, "Is that you said 'like'."

She flushed and looked away, "I don't know, Len, I don't think I'm ready to move on yet."

I smiled sadly, "I understand. Take all the time you need." I swung my legs around the bed, but she grabbed my hand.

"If I do decide to move on," She said, "You'll be the first person I call."

"I'd certainly hope so," I said, kissing her forehead lightly, "If you even considered calling someone else first, I'd happily kill them."

"Happily?" She squeaked and I laughed.

"Just kidding." I said, walking to the door.

"You forgot your hair tie," She flushed, flinging it at me. I caught it and smiled as I tugged my hair up.

"Thanks," I smiled, "You'll be back at school tomorrow, right?"

She nodded, "Don't tell anyone about this... Okay?" She was bright red.

I laughed, "The fangirls would kill you the moment you stepped through the gates. I wouldn't want that happening."

"Thanks Len," Rin smiled thankfully.

"Sleep, okay?" I said.

Rin nodded.

**FINALLY DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO WRITE THAT. Anyway... Sorry for the chapter's shortness, but least it was... er... eventful xD. **

**Please review, follow and fave!**


	15. Chapter 15 - Kidnapped

**A/N: I just realised I've never advertised anyone else in an author's note... Yet a lot of people have advertised me. I'm such a baka sometimes xD **

**So, here's two really good stories you ought to check out:**

**Juvenile - MizuneMinamiki (RinxLen)**

**A Shoulder To Cry On - Pandapper (LenxOliver)**

**Please check one of them out! ^^ They're both pretty funny. xD**

**Thanks for all the reviews and entries!**

Despite acting cool and okay about her decision, I was heart broken on the way home. She'd rejected me. I mean, not really flat-out 'No' rejected me, but it still hurt. I wanted to slam my head against something solid and just knock myself out cold or something.

I pulled up into the hotel parking lot and headed inside. It was late evening now, with the sky tinted a beautiful orange, with rays of pink and gold seeping through the clouds; my lips were still tingling... I headed inside the hotel and up to the room.

I burst through the door, before stalking off to my bedroom, and Oliver followed me curiously. I really didn't need Oliver at that moment in time. Heck, I'd prefer Teto over Oliver.

"Len?" Oliver asked, as I slammed the door. He jumped back, avoiding the door by centimetres.

"Leave me alone," I mumbled as I lay on my bed, smothering myself in my pillow, as a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

The door creaked open, "You do realise you didn't lock it, right?"

I ignored Oliver and tried to force my tears away. I didn't want to cry in front of him, he'd never let me forget it.

"Len..." Oliver said, staying in the doorway, "You went to see Rin... right?"

I didn't reply.

"What happened?" Oliver asked.

"That's a stupid question," I quoted from all the times Rin had flat-out told me that. Rin...

"No, not really," Oliver said, "Because there's several possibilities as to why you're like this. You could've been rejected by her, or she could've said she never wants to see you again, OR she could be dead. I don't really-"

"Oliver if she was dead I wouldn't have come home." I interrupted him, sniffling a bit.

"... I know." Oliver said sadly, "But... I don't know..."

"Just go away," I said, "I don't want to talk to you about it. You'll just make fun of me."

"Why the hell would I do that?" Oliver asked, slightly offended, "If you don't remember, I felt the same when Yuki had the flu for a week."

"No you didn't," I said, "Because she didn't reject you."

Oliver laughed, "Len, she rejected me 38 times and counting. We break up every other Saturday. I feel this way every single time she does."

I said nothing, turning my head and looking at the blank-eyed boy standing in the doorway, before turning my head back.

"I kissed her," I admitted.

"And she shoved you away?" Oliver asked.

"N-no," I flushed slightly.

I expected Oliver to go on a rant about how we must've had sex or something then, but instead he just asked, "What happened then?"

"She said she wasn't ready to move," I sighed, "Her boyfriend died two years back."

"Oh..." Oliver said, "Well, I suppose that's understandable."

"She said she'd think about it, but I still feel like shit." I sighed.

Oliver paused for a moment, "You love her a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah..." I said.

"Well, I know exactly how to help you then," Oliver said slyly.

"Should I be afraid?"

"Very. Now, what's Piko's phone number?"

[...]

I dialled Piko's number on my cellphone. Oliver was insisting a translate everything for him so he could explain details of what they were going to try and do.

"Hi, Piko-kun, it's Len," I said when Piko picked up, "Oliver wants to speak to you, so I'll translate everything."

"Oliver?" Piko asked, "Oh god, is he that English kid who leeched onto my foot and insisted I take him to you?"

"Ha... Yeah, him..." I said, "Anyway, on with the talk."

I turned to Oliver, "What do you want me to say?"

"Hi Piko, sorry about before and all, but Len really needs our help with Rin. He was rejected by her - long story - and I have a plan, but I'll need your help."

I turned to the phone again, "Oliver says: Hi Piko, sorry about clinging to your leg like the insane maniac I am, but Len needs our help. He was rejected by Rin - don't ask - and I have a plan, but I need your assistance."

"Len, I know the words for insane and maniac..." Oliver growled, "Please translate exactly, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes as Piko spoke on the other end.

"Ooo, Rinny and Lenny, eh?" Piko said cheekily, "You two get it on?"

"Oh shut up, Piko," I growled into the receiver.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver, shush," I told him.

"What?" Piko asked.

"It's okay, just telling Oliver to shut-"

"Are you talking about me?"

"No I'm just telling Piko that-"

"Len, stop gossiping about me, I can hear you-"

"I GIVE UP!" I yelled, throwing the phone down. Piko laughed on the other side of the line and Oliver smiled, before picking up the phone.

"Hi," Oliver said, "My name's Oliver. I don't know much Japanese, but hopefully you know enough English for it to make sense."

I rolled my eyes, "I'll leave you two to plot and go get myself some dinner, shall I?"

"Good idea," Oliver grinned, "But I don't think Len would approve."

"Wait, what?-"

"I'll ask," Oliver said, covering the receiver, "Hey, Len, do you approve to making a giant banner that says 'I Love Rinny'-"

"HELL no."

Oliver turned back to the receiver, "He said no."

I headed out to the kitchen, leaving the insane maniacs I called my friends to plot my social death. Teto was watching some corny horror movie as usual, so I just strode into the kitchen and took some left over pizza.

"Len! This is much too scary for you!" Teto exclaimed in horror. I swallowed my pizza, walking over to her and whispering in her ear.

"Seven days..." Before walking off because she screamed. I laughed to myself and decided to head out somewhere for a bit, as the hotel room was too small for me to do anything interesting without bumping into someone.

I took the keys from the pot plant and jogged downstairs to the lobby and out the door. I decided against driving, and just took a walk instead. With my keys in my pocket, I headed downtown again. On the edge of town, there was a lot of thick trees, a dense forest really. It was quite beautiful and abandoned, so I decided to head through.

I jogged down the dipping mounds of dirt as I went, making sure I could always see the street behind me. I came to stop by a pond in the middle of the forest, gazing down at the glistening blue water.

I breathed in deeply, sitting down by the pond's edge, folding my legs and resting my hands on my knees and looking at the rippling currents.

"Oh god, Io, hurry up." A voice growled, "Why are you always falling behind?"

"Oh shut up, Luc," Another voice said, "If it weren't for me, that Neru girl wouldn't have died. So just shut up and be grateful."

"Are you guys idiots?" Someone else yelled, and the first two voices yelped as a smack echoed, "You don't just go around boldly boasting you killed someone. Honestly, I don't know how I put up with you two."

"It's not like it matters, Li," The second guy smirked, "I've got the gun on me, if we see anyone, we'll just shoot them."

I froze. They killed Neru? And they had the gun with them? And if they saw me, they'd kill me instantly...

"Don't swing it around," The third guy - the guy who I supposed to be the leader - said, "You'll blast your foot off, idiot."

"That'd be hilarious," The first guy smirked.

"You wanna go, Luc?" The guy with the gun challenged, "Want me to blast your ears off?"

"Do you two want me to hit you again?" The leader sighed. I eased up behind a tree, looking over to where the boys stood on the edge of the forest. One of the boys had cropped, blonde hair with two long strands that fell onto his black jacket. He was your everyday thug, with buckled boots and thick, fingerless gloves; scarred knuckles to match. I'd definitely seen him before.

One of them was holding a small pistol, his silver hair cropped in a bob, with an ahoge that reminded me all too much of Piko. His shirt fell on his shoulders, with two straps over his shoulders, with shorts that showed his scabby knees. He was quite smaller than his companions, but the gun in his hand made him more threatening.

The last boy had a long, red ponytail that went down to his lower back. He wore a leather jacket similar to the blonde guy, but only had one fingerless glove on his left hand.

"Honestly, just put it away," The blonde-haired guy sighed, stuffing his hands in his pocket, "You're such a fool, Io."

The silver-haired boy - Io - put the gun in his pocket, huffing and crossing his arms over his skinny chest, "You're not fun, Li."

"I'm just not a complete fool like you two," The blonde - Li - sneered, making the last on Luc. That was it, I had their names.

"Anyway, why'd you call us here?" Io asked, "It better be good, coz I was getting hot with my bitch before you called."

"Akita gets out of hospital tomorrow," Li explained, "My sister wants us to shoot her."

"When?" Io asked.

"After school. She walks home alone, apparently, which will give us the best chance to get her." Li explained, "Then my sister gets Kagamine and everyone lives happily ever after."

"What about her dad?" Luc asked, "He's the police chief."

"He'll just assume some criminal's trying to get to him," Li shrugged, "He'll probably move out of town."

"Or pursue us."

"Pfft, the Akitas are all cowards. He'll run away with his tail between his legs." Li smirked. I needed to get out of there and warn someone about it, so the police could arrest them. If they were seriously planning on attacking Rin...

I edged away from the tree and winced as I stepped on a twig, the snap echoing in the night.

"Who's there?!" Io yelled, whipping out the pistol instantly.

_If I stay still they'll-_

Li grabbed my collar, shoving me against the tree. I grunted, wincing as my back cracked.

"Well, well, well," Li smirked, "If it isn't Len Kagamine. You're the one who stopped our fun with Akita, aren't you?"

His fist collided with my cheek, causing me to fall to the ground on my hands.

"Get up," Li told me, "C'mon you pathetic excuse for a man. Get up and fight me."

I got up and went to punch him, but he kicked me in the stomach, forcing me against the tree. I spat blood on his jeans and he growled.

"These are new, Kagamine," He said, "You'll have to pay for them. I suppose you can, since you're so rich. Why don't you just hand us the money and we might let you live."

I karate chopped Li's leg and he crippled, swearing as he fell over. I kicked him in the side of the head and he stumbled.

"You little brat!" Li yelled.

As I tried to scramble around, I slipped on the muddy bank near the pond, falling over.

"IO WHAT THE-" I heard one of the guys yell, before gunshot went off in my ear. I screamed in pain as the bullet shot through the back of my shoulder.

"You could've killed him idiot!" Li yelled and gripped the back of my shoulder, scrambling up and attempting to run, but being swiped down by Li.

"I don't think so, Kagamine," He smirked, "You're bound to be worth lots, you'll be coming with us."

[...]

It's not exactly the first time I've been kidnapped or beaten, but it's the first time I've been shot. My shoulder stings, throbs and internally and externally bleeds all at once, causing me to sob as I lay on my knees in the back of Luc's truck.

I slammed my head against the back of the car, trying to focus pain somewhere else than my shoulder.

"Stop moving around," Li growled, "Io, we're keeping the guy in your basement."

"What?" Io said, "Why?"

"Coz you're the idiot that shot him, remember?" Li rolled his eyes; I could see in the review mirror. Unfortunately for me, the windows were heavily tinted. Not even Teto could recognise me through these windows.

"Well if I didn't he would've escaped," Io retorted.

"Shut up, moron. Li had it covered," Luc growled, turning down a road. I'd been unconscious for half the ride and had no idea where we were. We were out of the city now, speeding out into the countryside.

"Well I don't see why we can't just keep him at the hideout." Io said.

"You fricking insane? If he gets out he'll tell everyone about the stash," Luc growled, "I need my coke, okay? So just shut the hell up, Io."

"What if someone finds him?"

"All on your head," Luc smirked, "Even if you rattle us in, and he agrees, Li's dad's a judge and mine's equal rank to Akita's father, you're the only one screwed if we get busted, so if I were you, I'd just shut the hell up."

_If I get out of this, I'm getting the best lawyer in the world to make sure these bastards go to jail. _ I promised myself, _for Rin's sake._

_Tomorrow... No... No... _ I struggled up, trying to pull my hands out of the bind. I have to get out, find my way back and save Rin... If these idiots get to her... She'll be killed.

I lifted me foot, placing it in between the rope and pulling my hands up. My shoulder burned and I bit down on my lip. I gave in, my head slamming against the window. My shoulder hurt even more than before, and I'd probably damaged it a lot.

"Hey, Kagamine," Li smirked, "We're here." The door opened and I fell forward, Li grabbing my binds and dragging me out of the car and slamming my head against the metal.

And I passed out.

**.../shot by Len fangirls.**

**Wait, that means I commited suicide... Heh... Lol. I think Lily's genderbend is called Li, but he's also called something else... I'm so confused about it. **

**So, if anyone thought the whole thing with Neru was the end of the drama, you're wrong xD**

**If this starts getting ridiculous with car chases and crap, someone kill me... Anyway, 'nough said. See y'all next chapter ;)**


	16. Chapter 16 - Apology

**A/N: Hi, hi! So, I'm going to start doing regular shout-outs I think... **

**Being A Matchmaker SUCKS - Lennylovesrinny02**

**Please check it out! It's really fluffy (cloooouds) and cute :3 You can tell which couple it is from her username xD (lol)**

**It's been a while, but let's go back to Rinny's P.O.V~ **

**Rin's P.O.V**

I was discharged from hospital after sunset, and was waiting down in the waiting room with my head in my hands. I felt horrible due to heaps of things, mostly Len. How was he always so accepting of me, no matter what I did? Even though he'd smiled coolly as he'd left, I knew it was fake.

It was the same smile he gave his fans.

"Rin Akita?" The receptionist called and I raised my head, "Your father's waiting for you in the car park."

I nodded, rising to my feet and heading outside. I'd changed into jeans, a shirt and a thick, black hoodie, as to keep walm in the chilly night. My dad was standing by his car, smiling sadly at me. His eyes were even redder than usual; from lack of sleep and constant tears. I sprinted over to him, throwing my arms around him and crying.

"It's okay, Rin..." He said gently, rubbing my back.

I sniffed, realising most of my tears were already gone, wiped away by Len. I got in the passenger seat, staring blankly at the road ahead. I didn't realise time was passing at all, or that my hand had slowly moved to my lips, my fingers brushing against them. I smiled slightly, before dropping my hand.

As my dad pulled up at the house, I slipped out of the car and went around the back, before noticing two motorbikes in the alley...

"Rinto!" I yelled happily, knowing he must be home if his bike was also here. I rushed inside to the lounge, where Rinto sat on the couch, wearing his usual leather clothes that contrasted with his yellow bangs and blue eyes.

"Rinny!" He smiled, "Back from hospital already, I see. You do have the knack of bouncing back from things, eh?"

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"This morning," He smiled, "Arrived in town and dad gave me the down low on everything that's happened lately..." His smile faltered, "The funeral's this Saturday..."

I looked to my feet sadly. The funeral would be literally moments after the science fair, from what I'd been told. Least I could give Len a hug... Or something...

Rinto hugged me tightly, "You okay?"

"I'm all out of tears," I sighed.

Rinto smiled sadly, "How about we go make our special orange cake? Like we used to."

I smiled and nodded, as Rinto led me into the kitchen. We got out the flour, sugar, milk, eggs, oranges, cocoa powder and other ingredients and began whipping up a storm. Because we forgot to cover the bowl with something before whizzing it, the icing splattered all over the walls, causing me to shriek and laugh.

With orange icing splattered all over my face, I propped myself on one of the counters we weren't using and licked the icing off of my face, fingers and hands, while Rinto poured the bake into the usual circular baking tray we used.

I smiled to myself, remembering one of the times when Neru, Rinto and I all attempted to make dad breakfast in bed at our old house, and everything came out burnt. He'd just ruffled our hair and smiled at us, before eating the inedible food. It made him sick for an entire week.

Of course, if mum had been home at that time, we wouldn't have made such a mess, but my mother was never one to stay home. She was always going on trips out of town and such, but always announced where she was going and when she'd be back.

That's how we knew she'd left us for good this time.

Then again, at least she was alive, right? Poor Len... I tried to imagine my mum being dead and my dad beating me, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't see it happening. _It must be horrible for him to remember stuff like that. _I remembered back to the time when I was hurt from Lily beating me up after seeing me hug Len... How he stayed with me the entire time. How he'd cared for me since the start; since I cried, since I yelled at him. He'd never hated me, or hurt me, he'd been kind the whole time.

It almost brought a smile to my lips.

"What's on your mind, sis?" Rinto asked, jumping on the counter next to me and almost hitting his head on the overhead cupboard.

"Huh?"

"You had a sort of distant look in your eyes," Rinto explained, "What's up?"

"I was just thinking." I sighed, looking at me feet, blushing slightly and swinging my legs back and forth.

"Oh. My. God." Rinto gasped, "It's a guy, isn't it?"

"Sh-sh-shut up!" I stammered.

"Ha... My little tsundere sister likes someone," Rinto grinned, "What's his name?"

"L-Len..." I stammered.

"Full name."

"Kagamine..."

"THE Len Kagamine?" Rinto gaped at me, "Rin, I thought you hated him ever since Luki died."

"He's actually a pretty nice guy," I sighed, "We're friends. He spent an entire day with me at the hospital, just talking about stuff, and came right after school today. He's kind of sweet, really."

"He's famous, Rin," Rinto warned me.

I flushed, "Rinto, he told me he loves me."

"Uh, that's not what I meant," Rinto laughed nervously, before smiling, "But that's good, I suppose. I meant, if he's famous, you'll get roped into all sorts of things with the media, there'll be heaps of rumours... Your life will never be the same, you know."

"I don't care..." I said quietly, "Len's really sweet and kind. He can be kind of a doofus at times, but..." I smiled slightly.

"You love him." Rinto told me. It wasn't a question, it was a fact. He stated it as a pure and true fact.

"I don't know," I said, "I don't know if I'm ready to move on from Luki yet..."

"Whatever, tsundere." Rinto smirked, as the oven beeped. He pulled out the orange sponge of a cake, smothering it in orange icing and sprinkling a bit of cocoa on the top. I jumped off, running up to him hungrily and bouncing no his shoulders.

"Give me a piece!" I pestered, "A biiiig piece!"

"Say please!" Rinto told me firmly, holding the cake away from me.

"Please?" I asked, showing him my hands to prove I wasn't crossing my fingers. Rinto sliced me a big slice and handed it to me.

"Esaelp," I grinned, before sprinting off into the lounge.

"Hey!" Rinto said, "I'm not an idiot Rin! I know that's 'please' backwards, meaning you take it back!"

"Hehehe," I giggled evilly and sit in Rinto's spot on the couch, as he gallops out of the kitchen with his own slice.

"Shove," He said.

"Nope," I smirked.

"Okay then," He calmly placed his cake on the table before tickling me.

"STOOOOP!" I squealed, placing my own plate down, "Stop, Rinto!"

"Then move."

"Oh god, fine, I will." I giggled, getting up and moving to where Rinto sat instead. He took his cake and we both started eating whilst talking about random stuff at the same time. He talked about his girlfriend out of town, how his job had recently changed, and he was now issued to be a bodyguard for a new singer. I talked about school and my problems and he rubbed my shoulder.

By ten, I was yawning in exhaustion, having finished my second piece of cake.

"I'm going to hit the hay," I said.

Rinto yawned, falling onto the sofa as I got up, "Same here. Night sis."

"Night," I smiled, before heading off to my room. I closed the door and pulled the window shut, burying myself under the covers my pulling the blanket over my head, before drifting off.

[...]

_I was eleven. My hair was down to my lower back and was neatly brushed, hair clips pinning my bangs to the side. I sat on the side of the well in the backyard, dangling my legs over the edge. _

_"That's dangerous," A voice said from behind me. I turned to see a pink-haired boy standing behind me. He wore the uniform from the school I attended, with a small, blue blazer, white shirt and blue tie. It contrasted with his hair. _

_"I'm fine," I said quietly, turning back to the well, gazing into the black. _

_"You seem sad," The boy said, sitting on the ground next to me, dangling his legs beside mine. _

_"My sister's crying," I explained, looking down at my hands, "She stays away from us, locked in her room all the time." _

_"Why?" The boy asked curiously. _

_"My dad says she'll be fine soon." I shrugged. _

_The boys hand fell on mine and I flushed, looking at his smiling blue eyes. _

_"If you need to talk to someone, you can talk to me, you know. My name's Luki. What's yours?" _

_"Rin." I said, "Rin Akita."_

_"That's a pretty name!" He enthused happily, "It suits you - Rin." _

_"Thanks," I smiled, "Yours is nice too."_

_"I hate my hair though," Luki complained, tugging at his pink bangs, "It's so girly."_

_"It's cute," I smiled. _

_"You think so?" Luki asked, raising his eyebrows._

_"Yeah!" I nodded._

_"In that case, I suppose it doesn't bother me that much."_

_[...]_

_"Happy birthday!" Luki cried the moment I opened the door. He was smiling, holding out a present for me. It was a small, square box. There was only one thing that could possibly be in there; books. _

_I smiled, taking the books from his hands and he pecked me on the forehead and invited himself into the living room, as usual. _

_"Where's the decorations, eh, Rinny?" He asked, folding his arms behind his head as he walked around, "The streamers, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey sheets, buffet and banners, eh?" _

_"I'm not five, Luki," I rolled my eyes._

_"You had them last year," Luki smiled pointedly, before strolling into the kitchen, "But you're a teenager now. You're waaaaay too cool for all that."_

_"Oh shut up," I rolled my eyes. _

_"Make me," Luki challenged. I placed my present to the side and moved closer to kiss him, when the door burst open. It was Neru, of course. _

_"Oh!" Neru stammered, going bright red at realising she'd interrupted something, "I-I'll just go, shall I?..."_

_She slammed the door shut, hurrying away. _

_"She's sixteen now, right?" Luki asked._

_"You ask about her age every time she does something," I rolled my eyes, "Just remember she's a year older than you, jeez." _

_"It's just she's so immature-"_

_"Hyprocrite much?" I scoffed and Luki laughed. _

_"You love my childishness, Rinny," Luki smiled. _

_I smiled to myself, knowing it was true. He was pretty cute when he was being childish, and sweet when he wasn't. _

_"Anyway, I'm hungry," Luki said, strolling into the kitchen and throwing open the fridge, browsing through the contents, looking for something to eat. _

_Then he began laughing evilly._

_"Luki, what are you planning-" I stopped when I saw the sauce bottle he held._

_"Ohhhh, no you don't. This shirt is new-"_

_"You wore it last Saturday to the movies with me and the Wednesday before," Luki said. Damn his photographic memory..._

_"ACK! Luuuuuki! At least give me some ammo!" I complained as he squeezed the sauce at me. It went over the kitchen and my shirt and I giggled. He gave me a sauce bottle and we both fought. _

_Afterwards, we were both drenched in sauces of all colours, smells and flavours, sometimes liking off of our sleeves. _

_"Man, you're childish," I smirked. _

_"You love me like that," He smiled back._

_[...]_

_I sat on the couch quietly, staring blankly at the TV. _

_"...Len Kagamine tour bus hits local boy, Luki Megurine in a hurry to get to Kagamine's upcoming concert..." The news reporter said. _

_I was numb. Completely numb. I couldn't feel my fingers, or my lips, or anything. I couldn't even feel the tears streaking from my eyes. My vision blurred and I was hardly paying attention anymore. The bus driver was being taken to court, the concert was cancelled... They didn't wheel Luki off to hospital to try and save him. He had no pulse. He wasn't breathing. There was no point in taking him to hospital. _

_"...Kagamine will be making a personal apology on TV for Megurine's family and friends..."_

_Why? Why was Kagamine making an effort? Why the hell did he care? He didn't know Luki, he wouldn't be sorry. Why make an apology if you're not sincere? Just to make stupid people think you're sincere? It won't bring him back, so don't try, just don't do anything. _

_If he just shut up and did nothing, it wouldn't be his fault at all. So why is he doing something?_

_Days of numbness passed. There was no Luki to spread good rumours about me, to stand up for me when Li, Io and Luc harrassed me. I was constantly shoved in the halls, constantly sniggered at. Remarks like 'where's your boyfriend?' or 'where's pink-hair? Oh, that's right. Above the clouds' were common. The day came when Kagamine was supposed to make an apology. _

_"...Kagamine is unable to make a public appearance to say sorry to the relatives of Luki Megurine due to reasons that cannot be released..." _

_"WHAT?!" I screamed, throwing a pillow at the TV, "What do you mean, you bastard?! Unable to apologise?! You didn't have to promise you would, but you did, so now you have to!" _

_I was furious. This dick, he'd promised to make an apology and then just CANCELLED the apology? I... I couldn't stand it. I hated him. He obviously only agreed to make the apology to look like a saint and then cancelled it for a spa day or something..._

_My blood boiled. How could he live with himself? _

[...]

I woke at three in the morning to the sound of my dad shuffling in the hall outside. I cursed myself for dreaming about Luki again, especially his death. I didn't really need to think about that right now.

"Rinto, get up," I heard dad say as I exited my room and started heading into the lounge.

"What? What's going on?" Rinto asked stirring.

"I got a call from the police; they're starting a city-wide search." My dad explained, "Len Kagamine's gone missing."

I gasped and dad and Rinto turned to look at me.

"Missing?" I gaped.

"He left the hotel to go out for a walk or something, and didn't come back." Dad explained, "His manager called the authorities to report him missing."

"How do you know he isn't just still out there?" I asked.

"He headed out just after sunset," My dad explained, "He's been out for over six hours. Someone also reported seeing a blonde kid who looked familiar being bundled into the back of a truck."

_Holy shit. _I thought, _just holy shit. _The same numb feeling I felt two years ago swept over me.

"Has anyone ransomed him yet?" Rinto asked, already getting dressed.

"Heaps," Dad nodded, "But they're all from different people; and there's no way we can trace them all."

"Didn't they narrow them down to the ones within a six hour drive?" Rinto asked.

"Still too many," Dad sighed.

I couldn't feel my fingers in the cold night. They weren't numb because of the cold though. Even I knew that. Tears formed in my eyes, spilling over the edges and shining as they fell down my face.

"Rin, don't cry," Rinto said, hugging me tightly, "You stay here, we'll go look for him, okay-"

"Li, Luc and Io," I said, "O-one of them must have him. They're the older brothers of the girls who h-hate me."

"And thugs," Rinto growled, "She has a point, dad. Call some other officers. We should split in teams of three and inspect the houses."

Dad nodded, taking out his phone-

"Let me come too," I pleaded, "I can help."

"I don't see how," Dad said.

"If I call someone who knows the Utatane's number and ask Piko to look around, can I come with you?" I asked.

Dad and Rinto exchanged looks, before dad sighed.

"Okay, fine, but you're staying in the car in case something happens." Dad said.

"Thank you!" I said happily, racing off to my bedroom and grabbing my address book. Gumi had visited me in a hospital twice and given me her number one of the times.

"Gumi?" I asked as she picked up.

"It's three in the morning Rin-"

"I need Piko's phone number. Now."

[...]

I asked Piko when his brother had come home and if he'd come home with any of his friends the moment he picked up, not even giving him time to complain about how 'fricking early' it was.

"Ugh, I don't know," Piko grumbled, "I was on the phone with Oliver for ages, talking about- uh... Stuff."

I rolled my eyes, "Please, Piko, if you can remember, you need to tell me. Len's life may depend on it."

"Well, my brother's home," Piko said, "His friend Luc dropped him off."

I froze, "I'm going over."

"AT THREE IN THE MORNING?!" Piko said, "Oh my god, Rin, we're not a couple, you cannot come over in three in the fu-"

"Len might be at your house," I said.

"...What?"

"Len's been kidnapped," I said, "I think your brother did it."

"WHY does that not surprise me? Should I do something?"

"No, whatever you do, don't do anything-"

"Piko, what the hell are you doing?" Someone growled in the background.

"Io I-"

"Who are you talking to?"

"No-one-"

"It better not be the cops."

"Why would I- ow!"

The line went dead and I rushed from my room, grabbing Rinto and dad, "I know where Len is!"

**DUN. DUN. DUUUUUN. I dunno. xD *casually leaves this on cliffhanger and goes on Hiatus (jk).***

**SO. Car chase- /shot by past me. **

**PastMe: NO. You promised not to!**

**PresentMe: Buuuut-**

**PastMe: No. **

**PresentMe: ...WAIT how did you even get here?**

**PastMe: I messed with the space-time contium. Like a baws. **

**PresentMe: How did I ever survive?...**

**Anyway! Please review, follow and fave ;) I'm also very thankful to my current followers :3 Love you all~**


	17. Chapter 17 - A Rescue & Bunnies

**A/N: Okay... This is rewritten because I received a review about how unrealistic it was, and, frankly, upon reading it myself, I'm disappointed in myself... I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, but hopefully it will be okay. Sorry for making you all re-read this and hopefully it doesn't confuse the story... I shot my other self, so she's GONE. DEAD... The crazy maniac... Now there's only the awesome me you all love :3 **

**Yeah... I hope I didn't lose any readers in the previous version of this .**

**LEN'S P.O.V**

"Len, Len, wake up," Someone nagged me, "Len. Get up."

"Five more minutes..." I whined, my shoulder burning.

"Okay, fine, you can have the pain killers later and just lay there in agony for a bit." The voice said sarcastically, the eye roll audible.

I opened my eyes, and my vision swirled. I groaned, my eyes flickering before finally focussing on the figure in front of me. The blue-green eyes looked quite amused, with the snowy bangs falling in the boys face.

"Piko?" I asked.

"Mhmm," Piko nodded, "Now, I smuggled some of mum's pain killers down here for you."

Piko took the container of pain killers from his pocket, "I made sure that they dissolve in water, so you want have to do much swallowing."

"Thanks," I smiled weakly as Piko grabbed a plastic cup from the side of the sink. I looked around. The room was small with barely any light, a long sinked lined one wall, with a few chairs scattered around.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The basement," Piko explained.

I groaned. I was laying against the wall, my shoulder bandaged but stained with blood. I got up and began to find my legs again. How long had I been unconscious?... I stumbled forwards, grasping the wall for support.

"The door's locked," Piko sighed, "I've already tried. It's locked from the outside, so there's no way we can get out. No use calling for help either. My mum and Ia are heavy sleeper's, and dad's out of town. Only Io, Luc and Li would hear us, and if they did anything, it would be knocking us out cold. At least if we're both awake, I can help you."

I nodded, stumbling over to the sink and leaning against it. Piko dropped the tablet in the water and it fizzed. I chugged it down quickly, before placing the cup back down.

"Hopefully we'll get out soon," Piko said, "Rin called me, so hopefully she'll be here with the police soon."

"They have a gun, you know," I said.

"I know," Piko winced, pulling up his pants leg to show the wound. A bullet was dug into his calf.

"Oh god, that must hurt..." I winced.

"Your shoulder's worse," Piko said, "Least mine isn't bleeding like yours."

"How long have you been in here?" I asked.

"Not long," Piko said, "I was thrown in because they heard me talking with Rin. I managed to swipe some pain killers off of the counter."

"Lucky," I smiled, "Have you had some?"

"Yeah," Piko nodded, "So I can walk virtually painless. It's pretty strong stuff."

I slumped against the wall, "There's nothing we can do until the police arrive, is there?"

"I suppose not," Piko said, sitting down, "Well, since we're here, how about I tell you what ideas Oliver and I came up with?"

"Oh god," I said, "What torture did you guys cook up?..."

"Lack of trust much?" Piko rolled his eyes, "Okay, well, this Sunday, there's an anime convention being held at the local stadium with cosplay, etc, etc. I know you guys both love that stuff, so I'm thinking you could go together."

"Like a date."

"No, not like a date," Piko rolled his eyes, "You go as friends, but you cosplay as the guy for whatever character she goes as. Someone often put with that character or well-known for being overly in love with her character."

"She won't tell me who she's going as," I said, "We both know that."

Piko shrugged, "I'll ask Gumi. They've started hanging out now, and she owes me for the time I bought her an extra slice of carrot cake."

I thought for a moment, "That's actually a good idea."

"I'm just going to take that as a thank you," Piko rolled his eyes and we heard the screech of tires above.

"Oh good," Piko said, "I'm starting to get mighty bored down here."

"Boredom... Is that all you think about?"

"That, and computers." Piko corrected me. I rolled my eyes.

"You should just marry your computer."

"I tried. It rejected me."

I smirked, "What?"

"COME OUT OF THE HOUSE AND PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Chief Akita's voice boomed.

"It rejected me," Piko faked a sniffle, "It just sat there, saying nothing. My heart broke!" He ended it melodramatically, tossing his head back. I laughed.

"Forever alone Piko," I mused, "Has a nice ring to it."

Piko glared at me, "Come again, Shota Len?"

"Hypocrite," I laughed and Piko sulked.

[...]

**RIN'S P.O.V**

I stayed in the car, as I'd been told to, as everyone else raced out to make sure everyone was secured on the porch. A very sleepy Ia and her mother stood on the porch, yawning and asking what all the fuss was, while everyone else barged into the house or ran off to the barn.

I sat in the car with Rinto, who wasn't permitted to go in, as he wasn't police, but could stay outside and take care of the other people who'd come; like Len's manager - Teto -, Oliver and his manager Sonika. Teto was there because she was Teto, Oliver because he couldn't be left home alone, and Sonika because she was also a medic. Well, to be Oliver's manager, I suppose you would have to be a medic.

The kid's a walking disaster.

"Rin, are you okay?" Sonika asked politely.

"I'm just worried," I sighed, looking to my hands, "For my dad and Len."

"We're all worried," Sonika reassured me, rubbing my shoulder affectionately. Teto was hyperventilating in the front seat, and Rinto was trying to calm her, to no success. Oliver just sat there blankly, obviously caught up in thoughts.

"Len will be fine," Oliver said quietly, in Japanese for once, "He's Len, after all."

I sighed. No matter how much people reassured me, it wasn't going to stop me from worrying. I knew that.

"Has he been kidnapped before?" I asked.

"Several times," Sonika nodded, "And he's swarmed with fans daily; he can handle himself, Rin. You don't need to be so worried."

"I can't help it..." I said, twiddling my thumbs again. Sonika rubbed my shoulder again.

"Teto, do you need a paper bag?" Rinto asked Teto. She nodded, so he rummaged through the front seat and found one, handing it to her. She tried to calm her breathing.

"I suppose you're reacting resonably compared to Kasane," Sonika laughed, "Then again, you don't have a Len obsession..."

"I don't have an obsession with Kagamine-sama!" Teto denied.

"You keep telling yourself that, Kasane," Sonika rolled her eyes.

"You're just jealous; we all know you wanted to be Len's manager." Teto eyed her.

"And we all know Len would've preferred me," Sonika shot back, "Besides, you're just a replacement - not even permanent. You do realise he's going back to his old manager afterwards."

Teto folded her arms over her chest," I can't see why he'd go back to her. She's not loyal at all; she refused to come with him to this city - because of some stupid problem with her family."

"And that's the only reason you're even here, Kasane-"

"Would you stop fighting?" Rinto sighed, "Jeez. You're like school girls fighting over a guy-"

He shut up when he received death glares from the two women.

"I raised the boy for months," Sonika said, "It's only natural I'd want to see him do well. He and Oliver are like my sons. You're just a pathetic fangirl who stalks him-"

"Shut up!" I yelled at them and they raised their eyebrows at me, "Do you even know anything about him? Know that he loves manga and anime of all kinds - even the girly stuff? That his favourite food is bananas? That his favourite colour is yellow? That he has a passion for drawing? That he loves softer, gentler songs and hates the songs he sings? That he plays the piano? Of course you don't, because you don't talk to him, or even give a hell about who he actually is!"

They both stared at me blankly, and Oliver's eyebrow rose, but he said nothing.

"I-" Teto began, but was cut off as a loud gunshot sounded. We all jumped, Teto and I squealing in surprise.

"Oh my god... What was that?..."

[...]

**LEN'S P.O.V**

Piko and I shot up as the gunshot sounded in the air.

"That's not a good sign," Piko said.

"It depends on what side fired." I said, "If it was one of our rescuers, it may be good news."

"I highly doubt that," Piko said, walking up to the door and thumping on it, "Is anyone there?!"

There was no response, so Piko thumped the door again, "Anyone?!"

"You're just going to hurt yourself," I said, "It's firmly locked, remember? Almost like there's an iron bar covering the door."

"God, there probably _is _an iron bar covering the door," Piko hissed, kicking the door angrily, "Why the hell does my brother have to be such a dickward?"

I shrugged, "Can't pick your family."

"God, I wish I could," Piko said angrily, "I'd choose someone else for a brother - like Kale, or you."

"I'm flattered," I said dramatically, throwing my head back, "Unfortunately, it cannot be~"

"Oh shut up," Piko rolled his eyes, smiling slightly, "You're going loopy from being locked in here too long."

"No, you are," I said, "You confessed your love for your computer."

Piko faked a sob, "It's so torturous! Forbidden love-"

"That is never meant to be!" I finished and we both threw our heads back dramatically, before giving each other a look.

"We really need to get out of here," I said.

"Agreed."

I got up and banged on the door with my good hand, Piko thrashing with both hands.

"LET US OOOOOOUT!" We yelled at the top of our voices. We banged on the door for about ten minutes, before giving up and sitting down.

"You didn't happen to bring a deck of cards down with you by any chance?" I asked hopefully.

"Damn, I can't believe I didn't think of that while _someone was punching me in the stomach_." Piko rolled his eyes, "Of course I didn't, genius."

"A phone?"

"If I had a phone, I would've already rung the police and told them we're down in the basement, wouldn't I?" Piko rolled his eyes again.

"Well, then, what are we supposed to do?" I asked.

"I think we're supposed to be too terrified to be bored," Piko said.

"Well, that's not working. I'm bored as hell."

"Same." Piko sighed, before walking over the cupboards under the sink and rummaging through them, "Let's see if there's anything interesting in here..."

I swung my legs back and forth as Piko searched.

"Aha!" He finally said, pulling something out of the cupboard. It was an old, wooden guitar, the strings a bit worn, but all in all, in good quality.

"My dad's old guitar," Piko said happily, taking a seat back in the chair and strumming the strings. It made an awful noise.

"I think it's out of tune," I advised.

"No shit, Len," Piko rolled his eyes, "You may recall me mentioning I played at some point?"

"You probably did and I probably wasn't paying attention," I said.

"Big surprise there." Piko tuned the guitar as he strummed it, getting it to the right notes. Eventually, he got it to the right notes and started plucking at the strings until it started forming a song. I recognised it instantly, after all 'Graduation Photo' was one of my favourites.

I started singing to it at the same time as Piko, and we both gave each other a look and laughed.

"Oh wow," Piko said, "Didn't think you'd know this song."

"It's one of my favourites." I said, "Play it; we can both sing."

Piko nodded and began strumming lightly on the strings, and we both sang quietly. Surprisingly, our voices were well suited together, and the song ended up sounding beautiful as Piko finished the last few chords.

"Now what?" Piko asked.

I shrugged, wincing at the jolt of pain that went through my shoulder from doing so.

"I'm starting to wish I brought cards..."

[...]

**RIN'S P.O.V**

The moment the gunshot went off, Rinto had leapt out of his seat and headed inside in a rush. He knew that none of the officers would shoot a kid; even if they had a knife. Unless one of Len's kidnappers had a gun, there would've been no shots fired.

So that meant there was a gun on their side.

"So he just ditches us here!" Teto freaked. Sonika ended up knocking her out and we pulled the pinkette into the back seat so she could sleep peacefully. However, that meant Sonika, Oliver and I were all cramped together, as Teto just _had _to lie down.

"I say we throw her in the boot," Oliver suggested. Half of the sentence was English, but I managed to pick it up.

"I don't think that's legal, Ollie..." Sonika said gently, before stepping into the passenger seat. Oliver and I shifted over so we had more room.

"What's going on in there?" I asked curiously, peeking over the driver's seat.

"I have no idea," Sonika frowned, "Maybe we should go see?"

"I dunno if that's a good idea..." I said, holding the shoulders of the seat in front of me. Sonika stepped out of the car anyway.

"Well, if someone got shot, I ought to go see. I may be able to help them." Sonika said, "You should come too."

"What about Oliver?" I asked, gesturing to the clumsy kid next to me.

"He'll be fine as long as he doesn't move." Sonika shrugged, before telling Oliver not to move in English. She headed up the veranda of the old, white weatherboard house and I followed her. I had to admit, I was curious, and staying in the car was only going to drive me insane from worry.

The door was open from when the police had burst through earlier, so we just waltzed in. I gasped the moment I laid eyes on the kitchen in front of us. The counter was stained with someone's blood, a knife laying on the counter and a few pills from a packet of whatever spilt on the counter.

"Holy shit," Sonika said, walking over, "What the hell happened here?"

I noticed the phone hanging off from the wall and I realised that it was _Piko_'s blood smeared over the side of the counter. Io must've attacked him while he was on the phone. Guilt filled me; what if Piko was dead? I couldn't forgive myself if he was... _Don't be stupid, Rin. Not even Io would kill his own brother. Injure and beat him within an inch of his life, maybe, but not kill him._

Well, that was reassuring. Not.

"I think it was Piko," I said quietly, "He answered the phone when I called."

Sonika picked up the pill on the counter, studying it, "This is a dissolvable pain killer. If Piko was attacked, he must've grabbed the box. So he knew wherever his brother would take him would have water to be able to dissolve the tablet... Smart kid."

"He's good with logical thinking," I said, "But besides that, he's a total idiot."

Sonika smiled, "That's usually the way."

She put the tablet back down, before pondering aloud, "What room in a house would have taps, or a water source?"

"Bathroom?" I suggested.

"Okay, let me rephrase the question. What room in a house would have a water source and be a good place to keep hostages?" Sonika asked.

"Um..." I said, "I don't think any room really fits that description."

"It may be some place outside," Sonika said, "Like the barn, or something."

I shook my head, "The barn's quite a few acres out; I was on the phone to Piko not that long ago, so it'd be too difficult for them to haul him out there. Besides, if they did, the truck would be gone, wouldn't it?"

Sonika laughed, "Oh wow, we're like detectives or something, eh?"

"Ha..." I said, "Well, I'm sure my father would've inspected, but he's kind of in a hurry to find Len, eh?"

"The house is only two storeys high, and with nine policemen, shouldn't they have found him by now?" Sonika asked.

We paused for a few seconds, thinking about that. The only thing that came to mind would be a bathroom of some sort; that, or an art studio. Where would an art studio be in this sort of house?...

"Basement!" I realised, "They must've dragged them off to the basement!"

"Okay, let's look for a basement of sorts," Sonika said. I nodded, heading off into the lounge. We searched around, trying to find some stairs leading downwards. As I began heading back into the kitchen, my gaze drifted out the window, to where Ia and her mother sat. It must've been pretty distressing from them; to have this going on in their own home.

"Rin!" Sonika yelled. I bolted down the hallway to where Sonika was hopping on the spot, clutching her foot.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I stubbed my toe!" Sonika seethed.

"...I think Oliver's rubbed off on you."

"No, there's something underneath the carpet," Sonika said, "Help me pull this carpet up."

I helped her pull up the thick blue carpet and gasped when I spotted the small, oak trapdoor, with black hinges. Shoving the carpet aside, we pulled the trap door up, and found a ladder leading into a corridor with lots of steps. In the distance, I heard a tap dripping.

"Water," I gasped, lowering myself into the corridor. Sonika and I headed down the corridor, jumping down the stairs.

"Len! Piko!" I yelled, "Hey! You two there?!"

[...]

**LEN'S P.O.V**

"Piko... Do you see a dancing squirrel over there?..." I asked, gesturing to one of the concrete walls. Piko squinted.

"It looks more like a flying elephant..." Piko said, in a sort of trance.

I squinted, "OH MY FRICKING GOD YOU'RE RIGHT."

There was definitely something in those pills. We'd been completely crazy for what seemed like hours. The room was spinning, and we kept saying random things.

"You know," Piko said, "If I were a bunny, I'm sure Gumi would like me a lot more. She likes carrots, so, maybe if I dressed up as a bunny, she'd go out with me again."

"Maybe Rin would like me if I was an orange?" I asked, "OH MY GOD, PIKO! I need to cosplay as an ORANGE."

"I could get my nose to twitch and wear a cute tail or something," Piko suggested, "And you could paint yourself orange and go nude."

"Rin wouldn't be able to resist me."

"NOW on to the more pressing matter of the extinction of dragons..." Piko began seriously.

"YES." I said, leaning forward on my hands, "DID YOU KNOW? In Llama Town they found BUNNY DRAGON fossils."

"OH MY GUMI WOULD LOVE THAT." Piko said happily.

"Piko, my friend, did I ever tell you about the Halloween Party Oliver and I went to?" I asked, "WELL. It was like, Oliver's fifth attempt to ask Yuki out, so he decided to go as a bunny - coz she loves bunnies-"

"SO DOES GUMI!" Piko said happily, "OH MY GOD OLIVER AND I MUST BE RELATED OR SOMETHING!"

"You probably are," I said, "You're both DAMNED EVIL."

"Buuuuuunnies!" Piko said happily, getting up and dancing around.

"SO. Oliver went as a bunny-"

"BUUUUUUUNNNIES!"

"And Yuki and I dragged him by his ears. We also managed to strap his tail to his nose- OH MY GOD, PIKO THE FLYING ELEPHANT IS BACK."

I got up and we both started dancing around, flailing our arms and yelling, "ALL HAIL THE FLYING ELEPHANT*!"

Just then, the door flew open. We both jumped, screaming and clinging to each other. Standing in the doorway was Rin and Sonika.

"OH MY GOD PIKO THE TSUNDERE AND THE OLIVER KEEPER ARE HERE TO END US!"

"IF YOU SOMEHOW MIRACLE-LY LIVE, PLEASE TELL GUMI I'M A BUNNY!"

"...Do I want to ask?" Rin asked.

"IT SPOKE."

"HOW ARE WE STILL ALIVE?!"

"You didn't happen to bring a frying pan to knock them out, did you?" Rin asked Sonika, "Coz they're seriously weirding me out."

Sonika walked over to where the packet of pills were and picked them up, "Holy... How many of these did you guys have?"

"1, 2..." Piko started counting on his fingers, "4... 8... 98... Um... We had... 3..."

"PIKO LOOK OUT THE ELEPHANT IS GOING TO HIT YOU WITH ITS TRUNK OF ALL MIGHTINESS!"

Rin and Sonika exchanged looks.

"Are they overdosed?" Rin asked.

"Very much so." Sonika said, "Thank god these pills aren't strong enough to kill..."

Piko and I had looped arms and were now singing to some sea shanty about elephants taking over the world.

Rin laughed, "To think I was worried they'd be hurt..."

"I'm sure once they come to, their pride will be." Sonika smirked.

"Piko." I said seriously, "Can you speak bunny?"

Rin face palmed, laughing, looping arms with us, "C'mon, I'll take you to the bunny queen."

"OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU!" Piko said.

"BACK OFF SHE'S MINE YOU FOREVER ALONE SHOTA!"

"Leeeeen, that's not niiiice. I'm not forever alooone. I have a giiiiirlfriend."

"Rin. Is. Mine. End of story." I growled at him.

"Guuuys!" Rin said, "How about you have the bunny queen instead, Piko?"

"YES." Piko said happily, "TO THE BUNNY QUEEN!"

[...]

**RIN'S P.O.V**

Arms looped with the two crazy guys, I led them up the stairs to the ladder. I helped them up and Sonika followed. As we arrived in the lounge, Sonika sat them down to inspect their wounds. She asked Piko to tilt his leg and he continued ranting on about when he got to see the bunny queen.

I couldn't help but be amused, actually, by their constant chatter. Sure, they were completely mad, but it was kind of cute. Especially Len. He kept giggling childishly.

"Rinny~!" Len said. I was talking to Sonika about Piko's injury, and how it would probably be best to knock him out as the wound was quite deep. I turned back and saw Len pouting childishly.

"What is it, Lenny?" I asked sweetly.

"I want candy."

"Candy?"

"Candy, candy, candy, candy, candy, sweetie, sweetie, girls love~ Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, cutie, cutie-"

"I get the gist, Lenny." I said quickly, "I don't have any candy."

"Whaaaaat?" Len whined, "How can you not have candy?!"

"I'm sure Oliver does," I said.

"OH MY GOD THEN I'LL GO-"

"NO." I said, grabbing his ponytail as he tried to get, forcing him back down.

"But I need candy!" Len said, wriggling as I gently grabbed his shoulder and sat him down. He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. I smiled to myself, laughing slightly.

"You don't need it, you just want it."

"No. Without candy, I will DIE." Len said dramatically, "I NEED MY CANDY. Noooooow-"

"Len, seriously, calm." I said gently, "I'll get you candy as soon as I can, okay?-"

He threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly, "Thanks! You know, I don't care what others say about you! You're awesome!"

I flushed, "Leeeen, stop."

"Stop what?" Len asked, grinning as his breath tickled my neck, "Complimenting you? My beautiful, smart Rinny-kins? Stop touching you?"

His lips brushed against my skin lightly as he murmured, "Do you have a problem with that?"

Sitting there bright red, Piko started taking notice.

"LEN GET A ROOM." He yelled loudly, "IF THE BUNNY QUEEN SEES YOU CARRYING ON LIKE THIS SHE'LL NEVER DATE ME!"

"Piko, calm," Sonika said gently, "I need you to take this..."

Len let go of me, but still sat close to me, with one of his hands at my side.

"You know..." Len said quietly, "I think I'm a bit crazy at the moment..."

"A bit?" I asked, "Really? A BIT?"

He laughed under his breath, "A lot... Everything's really fuzzy and I have no idea what the hell's going on in my head... But I'm so glad you came."

I flushed, saying nothing.

"You know, even like this, I still know I love you," He said, pressing his lips to mine briefly, causing Piko to yell in outrage, before slumping against the couch and falling unconscious.

"Well." Sonika said, "I didn't even have to give him the shot. Your turn, Len."

Len nodded, "Do I get candy?"

"Not yet."

"Okay," Len said, as Sonika stood over him.

"Lean forward, okay?" Sonika said and Len nodded, leaning forward as Sonika inspected the wound on the back of his shoulder. From the way he just sat there expressionless, he'd had too many pain killers to feel anything.

"Thankfully, your wound isn't deep," Sonika said, "Should be easy enough to remove the bullet when we get to the hospital; but it's at a certain angle in which we can only access it if you tilt you shoulder forward, so we'll have to keep you conscious."

"Ooo, does that mean I get candy sooner?" Len asked excitedly.

"If you stay awake for the whole drive then yes." Sonika smiled warmly.

"YAY!" Len cheered, jumping up, "Let's go!"

"Rin, keep an eye on him, okay?" Sonika said.

I nodded, hurrying up to where Len was happily skipping from the house. A few policemen exited.

"You found them?"

I nodded.

"Oh that's good," The policeman said, "Some other men got the boys responsible for this mess and they're in the cars."

"That's good," I smiled, "What was the gunshot earlier?"

The policeman sighed, "Chief got shot in the leg. He'll probably never walk again, but he'll live."

My face drained of colour, "Chief Akita?..."

"No-one was expecting them to have gun," The policeman sighed, "He'll be fine though. Some other men took him back to one of the cars."

I rushed on ahead, causing Len to call out to me a stumble after me. My dad was sitting the back seat of one of the cars, supported by Rinto, a solemn look on his face. I rushed over, Len still behind me.

"Oh my god, dad, are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Rin, honestly." He offered a smile, "I'll live. It's not a big deal."

I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. Len's hand rested on my shoulder supportively. My head shot up when someone yelled.

One of the police cars had rolled back and banged into another; only slightly damaging the number plates and giving the people inside a fright. In the car that had backed up was Oliver and an unconscious Teto, and in the other Io, Luc and Li.

"Thank you!" Oliver yelled and Len laughed.

"That one's a trouble maker, eh?" Dad chuckled.

"He's just mad at those guys for hurting Len," I smiled. Len's hand began slipping and I turned to face him, finding his eyelids drooping.

"C'mon, Len, race you to the car!" I said happily, racing off. He immediately woke up and chased after me. I jumped into the car with Oliver and Len followed me.

"You're alive!" Oliver said happily, "I don't get your CD Player then..."

Len ignored him, looming over me as he pulled the door shut.

"My prize?" He asked, causing me the blush.

"Candy once we get there." I said flatly.

"CANDY!" Len said happily, bouncing in the car and starting to sing 'Candy Candy' all over again.

"Candy, candy, candy, candy, candy~" Len sang.

"Sweetie, sweetie, girls love~" Oliver finished.

"OH MY GOD WHO IS HE?!" Len screamed, jumping back from Oliver, obviously not having seen him.

"I am awesomeness itself." Oliver said dramatically.

"Oh hi awesomeness itself." Len said, before giggling to himself.

Oliver gave him a look, "Who are you and what have you done with Len?"

"Who's Len?" Len asked, "Are you this Len you speak of?"

Then Len just started idly singing 'Magical Neko Len Len' and Oliver threw his arms around Len.

"Fiiiiiinally! You have come to the dark side!" Oliver said happily, "We can annoy everyone TOGETHER!"

"Oh god," Sonika complained, "This is going to be a long drive..."

[...]

**LEN'S P.O.V**

After singing 'Magical Neko Len Len' and 'Shota Shota Burning Night' a few times, Oliver and I settled on singing 'Candy Candy' in hope Sonika or Rin would finally give us candy. It ended up turning into a sort of chant.

"CANDY! CANDY! CANDY, CANDY, CANDY!" We yelled. Sonika was blocking her ears with her fingers, whereas Rin was just laughing, while Rinto drove.

"What type of candy do you want, Len?" Oliver asked, bouncing happily.

"Choooocolate!" I drooled.

"CHOCOLATE!" Oliver cried.

"Oh dear god no," Sonika groaned, "Now he's going to sleep walk!"

"Chocolate! Chocolate!" Oliver and I chanted, "We want chocolate!"

"You'll get chocolate when we get there." Rin told us.

"Rin... Do you want the world to end?" Sonika asked, Rin laughed slightly.

Eventually, we pulled up in the car park to the hospital; and Oliver and I were still jumping around like lunatics.

"RACE YOU." I yelled, springing from the car.

"No faaaair!" Oliver whined, "I can't see where we're racing to!"

I jumped up and down in front of the hospital entrance, cheering for myself happily, "I win!"

"Nyeh," Oliver said, poking his tongue out. Sonika and Rin hurried to meet us, Sonika carrying Piko over her shoulder.

We walked into the hospital and Sonika explained what had happened, whilst Oliver and I asked where our candy was. Sonika ended up shoving mints into our faces, so we shut up and sucked on them.

The nurses took Piko and I up the stairs, and Oliver started waving, as one of the nurse's grabbed his arm and started pulling him with us.

"Uh, I'm not supposed to be staying here," Oliver said, "These injuries are old! Sonika heeeeeelp me!"

"Have fun, Ollie!" Sonika said happily, "See you tomorrow!"

"SONIKA!" Oliver yelled, as the nurses led us to a room with three beds. They settled Piko down on one and I sat on another, still sucking the mint. Oliver protested as they forced him onto one of the beds.

"This is so unfair! I wanted to ruin Len's apartment with my awesome sleep-walking super powers!" Oliver said, "Let me goooo! This is illegal in three villages! Llama Town-ians would not do this to me!"

"Llamaaaas!" I sung happily.

"I think we ought to knock him out... He's obviously received brain damage..."

"OLIVER RUN THEY'RE GOING TO KNOCK YOU OUT!" I yelled.

"I'm trying!" Oliver said, "Dammit, do you girls work out or something?!"

"Do YOU even lift?" I asked.

"Len, I sing, not arm wrestle with hospital nurses!" Oliver said.

"Who is this Len you keep mentioning? Is that the name of the flying elephant?"

"Flying elephant?" Oliver asked, "Ohhhh, the flying elephant."

"Okay, you're just going to take a little sleep..." One of the nurses said calmly, injecting Oliver.

"I don't want to see fluffy llamas..." Oliver slurred, before falling unconscious on his pillow. The nurses began fussing over Piko and I, and ended up removing the bullet from my shoulder and wrapping it up in new clothe, making me wear a sling to keep my arm at a certain angle so it healed.

I yawned, falling back on my pillow, the effects of the pain killers making my vision blur and my senses numb even more. I closed my eyes and sleep overtook me.

***Avatar The Last Airbender Reference (sort of)**

**This chapter was mindless humour, I know, but better than mindless gore, yes? For the record, Oliver accidentally kicked the brakes off, so the car rolled into the other. I hope this is better than the previous chapter with less logic flaws. (The pain killers are probably the biggest logic flaw, but ignore them for the sake of humour. xD)**

**Please review, follow and fave!**


	18. Chapter 18 - Flashback Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, hi, just me again. So, here's the next chapter; by the way, I will be announcing the results of the one-shot contest at the end of this chapter and uploading the one-shot along with my new series 'Poker Face' shortly. **

**I hope you all check them both out ^^**

**Also, the next two chapters will be Len's past; when he was attending the music school with Oliver.**

_"Len! Wake up! It's already eight." A voice called. I rolled over, covering my face with the duvet. _

_"Len, don't you ignore me, mister!" The voice scolded. I could easily see the blonde-haired woman standing there stubbornly, hands on her hips scoldingly. _

_I mumbled in my pillow, wrapping myself up in my duvet. Someone lifted up the duvet and slowly began taking it away from me, so I instinctively sat up, grabbed the duvet and fell back to the bed again. _

_"Len," She sighed, "Today's your first day at VocaTone. Don't you want to make a good impression?"_

_"No-one's going to like me," I muttered._

_"Don't be silly," She laughed, "Of course they will. You've got an amazing voice and personality - everyone will love you." _

_"No, they won't." I grumbled._

_"Oh stop being so negative. You have to give it a go." _

_"I don't want to..." _

_"Len, you have a scholarship; not many kids do! They saw some real potential in you; you should at least attend the school for God's sake." _

_"Oh fine," I sighed, rolling over and shielding my eyes as I opened them. The blonde-haired woman smiled, the smile even meeting her gold eyes; and that was pretty rare. She hardly ever smiled these days..._

_I got up sluggishly, and she stood, arms folded over her chest, making sure I made my bed and grabbed my uniform. I headed out into the corridor and down into the small, run-down bathroom, shoving the door closed and washing._

_"I'll be making some breakfast!" _

_I looked at the uniform sitting on the railings on the wall as I immerged from the shower-bath. It was neat, with buttons and a black blazer. The pants had deep pockets, and there was a silver belt to go with it. _

_I dressed and pulled my hair into its usual ponytail, before heading off to the kitchen. The smell of pancakes filled the air and I almost drooled it smelt so nice. _

_"Oh my god... That smells so yummy..." I said hungrily, clawing at the counter. Hands swiped mine away._

_"You can have it when Leon gets here." _

_I rolled my eyes, "Fine." _

_I sat down at the table, looking at my plate, wishing the pancakes would just magically appear._

_"What's for breakfast?" A gruff voice interrupted. Fear shot through my body as I glanced up. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed man that had entered the room. _

_"Pancakes, dear." Came the reply from the blonde woman, who served the beautiful smelling pancakes. Leon grumbled something and sat down, taking three pancakes and smothering them in maple syrup and cream, whereas I ate them bare. _

_"Thanks, it was delicious," I smiled, before getting up, "I ought to walk to the bus stop. Wouldn't want to be late-"_

_"Remember to get the newspaper on your way home," Leon said gruffly and I nodded, heading out of the house. _

_"Bye mum," I said, waving to the blonde-haired woman; my mother. _

_[...]_

_I leant against the bus stop pole, looking up at the sky that was dyed grey. More rain was sure to be coming soon; then again, it was basically always drizzling. I played with my buttons nervously, and, soon, the bus pulled up beside me. It was one of those stereotypical yellow school buses._

_I climbed in through the stairs and looked down the aisle. It was pretty quiet - a lot quieter than my old school's bus, where there was always paper planes and rubbish being pegged at others' heads - with a few people chatting to themselves and listening to their Ipods. This really was a school bus headed to a school of music, eh? _

_I took a seat in the middle, as it was completely unoccupied, and I couldn't be sorted into any group by that. From what I'd learned, the good kids sat at the front, and the bad kids at the back. But it didn't seem like anyone on the bus cared. _

_The only really noisy kids on the bus were three boys sitting at the back, who were talking loudly and laughing at something on their phones. The two kids in the aisle across from me where silent, both listening to the same song with their headphones in their ears. One of them was a young, black-haired girl, and the other was a slightly older blonde-haired boy. _

_"Hey," Someone said, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned back and saw a blue-haired boy sitting on the edge of his seat, "Are you new? I've never seen you around before." _

_"Uh, yes, today's my first day," I nodded. _

_"Ah, what luck!" The boy said happily, "I started earlier this month, so I'm pretty new too. I suppose you're one of the kids that got a scholarship from the contest last weekend?"_

_I nodded._

_"You must be really good then!" He said, "You're lucky - being able to attend VocaTone for free. It's really difficult for my parents just to keep me in the school." _

_I hadn't really thought about the kids who paid to stay at VocaTone before. Sure, I knew that there were kids that had to pay, but I hadn't thought how hard it must be on their families. I'd just assumed they were spoilt and rich. _

_"My name's Mikuo," The boy explained, "What's yours?"_

_"Len." I explained._

_"Nice to meet you, Len," Mikuo smiled, "Did you bring an Ipod?" _

_"Honestly, I don't have one," I admitted, "My parents can't really afford to buy me something like that."_

_"Oh! Well, you can listen to some of my music if you like," Mikuo smiled, handing me a headphone, "You can pick the song." _

_Mikuo showed me how to pick a song - because I'm a complete and utter fool when it comes to technology - and I picked 'Circus Monster'. _

_"Oh wow, interesting you chose that one," Mikuo said, "It's actually written and recorded by one of the boys at school. He won a contest to record his own song. Bit depressing, mind you." _

_As the boy started singing, I immediately felt a pang of fear. He was amazing - what if I wasn't good enough? I couldn't compare to this - could I? _

_The bus pulled up at the school. It was an old house, almost church-like, with stain-glass windows lining the third floor. Yes. THIRD floor. _

_The gardens around the school were beautiful - with talls trees and a small fountain out the front, surrounded by lots of flowers. From what I could tell, the gardens went on for ages, with lots of tall trees and falling autumn leaves. _

_Everyone got up and made their way down the stairs to the bus, heading up to the doors of the old building and to their classes. _

_"I'll take you to the principal's office," Mikuo offered, "Mr. Al will surely have a guide ready to show you around the school already." _

_I nodded, following Mikuo into the old house. There had to be over two hundred students making their ways through the corridors to classes and up the stairs to the upper floors. Mikuo led me past a bilboard with lots of papers up; people were reading through them for results on tests. _

_The place was massive; I doubted I'd ever be able to make my way around to classes without getting lost. Up some stairs and around a corner and we were at the principal's office. _

_Mr. Al was a gruff man, who was surprisingly kind. He explained that all students of the school needed permission for concerts and tours if they became popular before the age of sixteen. I said I understood, and Al went through the usual routine for students. It was customary for every student to do maths, English and the usual school subjects, but besides that, each student could choose an instrument to have a lesson on in the morning, a time for musical theory study and choose if they wanted an instrument or a singing class in the afternoon._

_Also, many competitions and contests were held, and any student was permitted to enter. However, auditions, rehearsals and performances would always take place either after school, during one of the student's optional classes or during break time. _

_I nodded and Mr. Al introduced me to a young, optimistic singer, who was one of the school's brightest to show me around. She was the girl who sat across the aisle from me on the bus; with two black pigtails sticking from the side of the side of her heads. _

_"I'm Yuki Kaai," She explained, "I'll be showing you around."_

_I nodded as she led me through the school, explaining all the dorms were on the third floor, with practise rooms lining the west and east wings of the first floor; the generic classrooms on the second floor. Also, there was a music room with any instrument you may need and you were allowed to freely borrow instruments like guitars, as long as they were returned before school ended._

_"This is the cafe-" She started as we entered the large dining hall._

_"YUKI!" A voice yelled, as a blonde-haired boy appeared from nowhere, tripping over virtually nothing and almost knocking the girl over. _

_"Oliver, what the-"_

_"Yuki they took my shoes again!" The boy cried noisily, "They hid them somewhere and won't give them back!" _

_Yuki sighed, "Oh god, again?"_

_"Uh-huh." The boy nodded, "Can you help me find them?"_

_"I'm kind of busy at the moment, Oliver," Yuki said, "Showing the new boy around." _

_"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise," The boy said, going slightly pink, "Sorry for embarrassing you..." _

_"Don't sweat it," Yuki said dismissively, "You should go see Ms. Ann about your shoes; she's got very low tolerance for bullying, and this isn't the first time."_

_"Maybe I should just stop wearing shoes..." The boy mused, "They do seem to be the cause of most of my problems..."_

_Yuki shrugged, as the boy headed off, banging into someone and knocking the tray from their hands, apologising profusely. As the boy stood up, I noticed how blank his golden eyes were; how they just stared off into space. It was eerie. _

_"So, this is the cafeteria," Yuki finally finished her sentence, "We eat all our meals here; if you stay late enough at school for practising, or arrive early, you can have breakfast and dinner. No matter if you're boarding or not." _

_VocaTone was also a boarding school; as it had heaps of international students; quite a few were exchange students from other music schools, trying to mingle with the right crowds and get connections down. That was the thing; when it came to it, we were all rivals; and only a few of us would become famous. The rest of our friends, foes and acquaintances would just be left here to continue lessons. Surely, true friends would be rare in a school like this. _

_"Well, it's almost lunch time now," Yuki said, as more students flooded into the room, "How about we get something to eat?" _

_I nodded and we headed over to where the food was being served. Yuki asked for an apple juice and fresh apple, whereas I asked for banana milk and noodles. We sat down at a table and began eating. _

_"Oh, hey, Yuki, who's your friend?" Someone asked. I looked up and saw a long-red-haired girl standing over us. At least, I thought they were a girl. No... They had an Adam's apple; but they still had breasts?... An extreme cross-dresser?_

_"Oh, hi Ritsu," Yuki said happily, "This is Len Kagamine; he's new here."_

_"Hi," Ritsu said happily, holding out his hand, "I'm Ritsu Namane." _

_I shook his hand, before turning back to my noodles. Ritsu sat down opposite us, eating his Chinese cabbage. _

_"Where's Oliver?" Ritsu asked._

_"He's talking to Ms. Ann. Those idiots took his shoes again." Yuki sighed. _

_"Ugh," Ritsu said, "Can I PLEASE just punch them?" _

_"Ritsu, seriously, you only just got rid of your reputation for being a bully..." Yuki sighed, "Where's Tei, Ruko and Rook?" _

_"Tei's plotting Miku's death, Ruko's off sleeping and Rook's practising his songs with Iroha." Ritsu explained, "No surprises there." _

_Yuki rolled her eyes, "Why doesn't Tei just give it a rest?" _

_"Because," Ritsu said, "She's jealous."_

_"Who are you guys talking about?" I asked curiously, feeling slightly excluded. _

_"Our friends," Yuki sighed, laughing slightly, "Tei's a complete psychopath really; she absolutely hates Miku - the most popular girl in school. Ruko's the laziest person in the entire school; always sleeping. No matter if it's a bed, bench or the floor, Ruko will sleep there. Rook also likes sleeping, not that he's as obsessed with it as Ruko. He's more into tea and hot drinks; well, I suppose they DO help him sleep..."_

_"They hardly ever turn up to lunches anymore," Ritsu sighed, "I miss Ruko's company; she's fun if she's not sleeping."_

_"Which is never," Yuki reminded him with a smile. _

_Ritsu shrugged, "Still..." _

_"Yuki! Ritsu!" Someone yelled. I looked up slightly to see a silver-haired, red-eyed girl racing towards the table excitedly, "I have the perfect- Oh my god..."_

_She froze, her crimson eyes gazing at me, a blush spreading on her cheeks, "Wh-wh-who is h-h-he?" _

_"Len Kagamine," I explained. _

_"Oh-oh-oh my..." She stammered, "I, uh, I..." _

_Ritsu rolled his eyes, folding his arms under his fake chest, "Tei, spit it out."_

_"I have to go," She said quickly, twirling her hair on her finger and giggling slightly, "I'll see you all later!"_

_She rushed off and Yuki and Ritsu exchanged looks._

_"Okay then..." _

_[...]_

_I sat in my first music class of the day, learning about musical theory. I knew a bit already; from what my mum had taught me over the years. It was enough so I wasn't drastically behind everyone else. _

_We were practising our notes, having to either play the note or sing it. A lot of people opted for singing it, as they'd just sing what everyone else played. Their voices were so amazing; I felt slightly envious and VERY fearful. What if I wasn't good enough?_

_"Sorry I'm late!" Someone cried, stumbling into the classroom. A lot of people snickered. The blonde-haired, blank-eyed boy got up, flushing bright red. _

_"Take a seat, Oliver," Ms. Ann said sweetly. Oliver nodded, banging into someone, before bracing himself and setting himself down in an empty seat next to me._

_"Are you okay?" I asked._

_"I'm fine," He said quietly, shuffling in his chair, "It happens all the time." _

_As the lesson continued, I noticed that when it came to handing out the sheets of paper for reading, Ms. Ann handed Oliver a paper with lots of bumps on it. _

_He nodded a thanks and ran his fingers across the paper._

_"You're blind?" I asked._

_"Yeah," Oliver nodded, but said nothing, as if everyone knew that and it was a dumb question. He ran his fingers over the brail, before humming the tune to himself as he went. _

_"I didn't realise, that's all," I said. _

_Oliver shrunk in his seat, as he continued reading the brail and humming the tune to himself. _

_"There's nothing wrong with being different..." I said quietly, causing Oliver to shuffle uncomfortably. _

_As the bell went off, everyone filtered out of class, but Oliver stayed put. _

_"Aren't you coming?" I asked Oliver. His blank eyes looked surprised that I'd even thought of him. I took his wrist, helping him up._

_"C'mon, your friend Yuki is waiting, isn't she?" _

_"Y-y-yeah," Oliver smiled. _

_[...]_

_By Friday, I was getting along quite well with Yuki, even though she got really grumpy really easily, and Ritsu, who actually had a pretty good sense of humour and was pretty cool, once you got past the initial oddness of his cross-dressing hobbies. _

_Ritsu always wore the girl uniform; and had a habit of fluffing up his skirt to make it puffier. I'd spoken to Ruko and Rook a few times, but Tei always ran away nervously when I was near. Ruko had never completed a sentence without yawning or rubbing her eyes sleepily. Rook had some animalistic tendancies; he often growled, or barked things; and also had a hate for cats. Maybe it was just how he wore a black, collar-like choker, or how his canine teeth were more pointed. _

_I was walking down the stairs of VocaTone; I still had absolutely no idea of my way around the place; but at least I recognised a few classes, the bathroom and the principal's office when I came to it, and I knew if I ended up in one of those places, I really was hopelessly lost. I knew the way to the school entrance though._

_As I walked down the stairs of the massive school, I heard sniggering around the side of the building._

_"Didn't your mother teach you to look people in the eye while they're talking to you?" Someone sniggered. _

_Someone else grunted as others laughed._

_"Oh, wait, I forgot. You have as much as mother as you do sight!" A sickening smack followed the crow of laughter. _

_I jumped down the side of the stairs and hurried around the side of the building, spotting the three boys who sat at the back of the bus leering over the small, bare-foot, blonde boy, with glazed over yellow eyes and lots of blood dripping down his face. _

_"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?!" I yelled angrily, upon seeing Oliver. The boys snapped up at me. _

_"Who the hell are you?" One of them demanded, dropping Oliver from where he held him up against the wall. Oliver grunted, falling on his knees. _

_"Stay away from him!" I ordered, pushing one of the boys aggresively. The boys were about twice my height, probably sixteen, yet I stood my ground. _

_"What do you want, blondie?" The guy sneered, shoving me back. I stumbled slightly, before shoving him back._

_"I want you to go pick on someone your own size," I retorted._

_"Like you, shorty?" The guy sneered, his lip curling. I shoved him with all my strength, and he only stumbled slightly. _

_"Honestly," He seethed, shoving me back and I tripped over, "That all you got, blondie?" _

_A fist collided with the side of my eye and it flared in pain as I stumbled backwards. The boy shoved me back, kicking me in the stomach so I keeled over, clutching my stomach and spitting blood._

_"Pathetic." The boy said, his foot colliding into my face. The boys snickered, walking off and I slowly got up, as Oliver also did. _

_"Why did you...?" Oliver started. _

_"Just say thanks," I grunted, helping Oliver up from where he was crouching. His arm slung around my shoulder and I helped him walk as he clutched his stomach._

_"Thanks," Oliver laughed, coughing, "Sorry you got hurt..." _

_"Don't be," I smiled, "I chose to help you, didn't I?" _

_"Why did you help me?..." Oliver asked._

_I shrugged, "I dunno. I just couldn't stand watching someone do that to you. Where are you shoes?" _

_"They ripped them off of my feet and threw them somewhere." Oliver explained, "It's okay though; I've got heaps more pairs." _

_"It's not okay," I said, looking around, "People can't just take your shoes and it be 'okay'." _

_"Thanks," Oliver smiled slightly, "Your name is Len, right?"_

_"Yeah," I said, "Len Kagamine." _

_"Catchy," Oliver laughed, "I'm Oliver; just Oliver. Never knew my parents. I was ditched on the orphanage's doorstep with a copy of 'Oliver Twist' and that was that." _

_"So why isn't your name Oliver Twist?" I asked._

_Oliver cleared his throat, before saying, "'Can I have some more please sir?'" _

_I laughed, as I glanced up and sighed, "Ah. Your shoes are on the powerline."_

_Two white sneakers hung over the powerline above us and Oliver simply sighed._

_"Of course. I suppose there's heaps of shoes around here," Oliver said, "They've clogged three toilets with my shoes so far; honestly, I think shoes are the embodiment of my suffering..." _

_"No, those boys are the embodiment of your suffering," I seethed, "Honestly..."_

_"Thanks again," Oliver smiled, "I owe you."_

_"If you want to make it up to me, don't let those guys bother you." I said. _

_"...I can't... They're always bothering me..." _

_"Tell someone then," I said, "Like Ms. Ann, or Mrs. Prima. They'll deal with the bullies and you can go back to normal-"_

_"Bullying IS normal for me, Len," Oliver told me firmly, "At the orphanage, at school- it is everywhere. I thought, maybe, winning the contest to have an official recorded song would make me more popular; but instead it just drew unwanted attention to me. It's best I just lay low and put up with the weekly bullying." _

_"Wait, you were the student who recorded that song? 'Circus Monster'?" I asked. _

_Oliver said nothing, ignoring me as I helped him to the front of the school._

_"You take the same bus as me, right?" I asked, trying to strike conversation again. Oliver stayed silent and sat down on the stairs with me, so I offered him a banana. He still ignored me, finally paying attention when I offered him some chocolate._

_"Thanks," He said, taking a chunk, "Oh man, Sonika's going to kill you if she finds out you gave me chocolate..." He laughed to himself at the inside joke, but didn't share._

_Eventually, I found myself resorting to the Ipod the school had given me for practising out of school. I scrolled down my schools, selecting 'Circus Monster' and singing softly to myself. Eventually, Oliver gave up and started singing with me, and I almost stopped when he started._

_His voice was quite soft, but beautiful all the same. It blended with the song perfectly; then again, he WAS the writer of it, right? I ended up secretly turning off my Ipod so only the sounds of our voice were in my ears. _

_"You turned off your Ipod," Oliver said knowingly as the song ended, "That's why you went out of tune." _

_I said nothing and he smiled. The bus pulled up and we headed on board, sitting in the middle. Yuki noticed us and gasped._

_"What the HELL did you two get up to?!" She asked in shock, fussing over us, "Were you fighting each other?!" _

_"Yes and I kicked Len's ass," Oliver said, at the same as I said, "No, I defended him against some bullies." _

_"Shush, Len, I am too awesome for that," Oliver said, his hand flying over my mouth. I mumbled something into his hand and Yuki smiled. _

_"You two seem like best friends or something," She laughed._

_"Oh he WISHES," Oliver said, "Don't you Len?"_

_"No-"_

_"Yes you do."_

_"No, I really don't-"_

_"Yes, yes you do."_

_"No, Oliver, I don't-"_

_"Oh, fine, have it your way. We're now best friends." Oliver rolled his eyes dramatically, "Lucky you." _

_I frowned slightly as Yuki laughed. _

_"Okay then..." I said slowly, "Best friends... I guess..."_

_"Best friends foreeeeever!" Oliver said in a girly voice, hugging me before pumping his fist, "Woo! Yeah!" _

_"More like best fiends," Yuki giggled, "You better not like pranking as well, Len, otherwise we'll all be screwed if you come to visit. Oliver's bad enough as it is, aren't you, little troll?"_

_"I'm INSULTED, Yuki," Oliver huffed, "I'm no troll!" _

_"Okay, okay, fine, you're an AWESOME troll. Happy?"_

_"Very." _

_Yuki laughed again, squeezing in between us as the bus set off down the road._

_[...]_

_"Len!" Yuki said happily, as she threw open the door to the orphanage. A red scarf hung around her neck, her black hair down for once and a black beanie pulled over her head. It was early December, and Christmas was fast approaching. Over the few months I'd been attending VocaTone, I'd become increasingly close with Yuki, Oliver, Ritsu and one of the other orphans who didn't attend VocaTone, but often hung around Oliver and Yuki; Yuma. _

_"Is everyone here already?" I asked._

_Yuki nodded excitedly, "Yeah, Oliver's still completely oblivious to the plan too; he's finishing up one of the projects he forgot to hand in last term, so we're setting up one of the dens." _

_Yuki led me into the orphanage. The orphanage was a large, white, brick building, that went up three stories with a sloped roof in which snow fell down in bucket loads. Oliver refused to go outside lately, due to the sheer, cold weather and his lack of shoes and habit of falling face-first into the snow, and since it was his birthday, we'd all decided to throw him a surprise party. _

_The orphanage's top two stories were bedrooms, where four of the same gender slept. The first floor had the dining hall and four dens used for various things; birthday parties and get-togethers mostly. _

_Yuki led me to the fourth den furtherest down the hall and knocked three times on the door, before opening it. Everyone knew it was her then, and continued decorating. _

_Ritsu was wearing a black skirt, with tight leggings and a long-sleeved red shirt and a black jacket over the top, his hair pulled up into an uncharacteristic ponytail with a ribbon-like clip in his hair. Rook wore low-collared red shirt, showing off his collar-like choker as he lazily set out food on the tables in the corner, his jeans clinging to his thighs. Ruko was sleeping on the couch, her dyed strip of hair covering her multi-coloured eyes; she had a knack for sleeping with her eyes open, which made her pretty creepy. Yuma had his usual beanie pulled over his pink hair; and for once it was because of the cold, not because of his laziness to comb his hair the morning. He wore a white jacket over his shirt with a pink and black striped tie. _

_I didn't know the story behind Yuma's coloured hair and pinkish style, but from what I'd picked up, it had something to do with a dare made with Ritsu, in which they both ended up losing, and, for some reason, Ritsu continued cross-dressing long after, whereas Yuma kept wearing pink only because it went with his hair. _

_The room was full of streamers which hung low, so Oliver would know they were there, as well as a large stereo set up in the corner. There was a game of 'Twister' set out on the floor, with brail on the circles so Oliver could easily tell which colour was which. It was amazing how thoughtful everyone had been with choosing things to do. I couldn't help but notice Tei - as always - was missing from the crowd._

_Honestly, what was with that girl? Did she hate me or something? Oh crap... If she hates me... _

_I didn't want to think about it._

_"The place looks amazing," I said, before breathing in, "And smells of chocolate; you sure that's wise?" _

_Everyone shrugged in time, even Ruko, who was asleep. I'd found out about Oliver's sleep walking habits on a sleep-over, in which I'd literally woken up with underwear on my face. I shuddered at the thought; oh well, least they'd been clean..._

_"Oliver's going to love the cake," Yuki said happily, "It's whipped cream insides, fudge icing, strawberry jam between the first and second base and those yummy meringue puffs on the outside." _

_"I don't think Sonika's going to love it though," I laughed._

_"I have to sleep in the same room as him," Yuma said, "I can guarantee I'm going to regret letting you give him that."_

_Yuki smiled, "He'll be happy though; isn't that what matters today?" _

_"In that case, we should play 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' and make you go in the cupboard with him, Yuki," Ritsu said, winking as Yuki flushed, "Since that'd make him REALLY happy." _

_"Oh shut up, Ritsu," Yuki snapped, "You're just saying that because you want to end up in there with Ruko." _

_Ritsu shrugged, "Ruko could tell you I DO have missiles-"_

_"This conversation ends here!" I interrupted. _

_"Tsundere," Ritsu teased, "Afraid you'll end up in there with Yuma, Len?"_

_"EWWWWW!" Yuma and I both yelled in sync._

_"Hey!" I protested, "Nothing wrong with my kissing!"_

_"Nor is there with mine!"_

_"Prove it," Ritsu grinned, "To each other."_

_"And you deny liking yaoi." I rolled my eyes._

_"Ah, Len, everyone who likes yaoi and doesn't want to be a pervert denies it," Ritsu laughed, "Just a basic law."_

_"Oh my god, you mentioned something Japanese and Ritsu didn't go off his rocker!" Rook pointed out, springing up immediately to check Ritsu's forehead, "You okay, man?" _

_"Do you want me to hit you with my missiles?" Ritsu growled._

_I coughed, "Pervert." _

_"Shota," Ritsu shot back at me._

_"Ritsu, go home, you're ill," Rook said, "You're saying Japanese words and not spazzing out; there's something wrong with you- Ow, ow, ow, ow! Ritsu, stoooop!" _

_Ritsu was giving Rook a 'purple nurple' with a sadistic look plastered on his face._

_"BAD RITSU!" Yuki yelled, throwing an apple - that she literally pulled from nowhere - at his head. _

_"Ow!" Ritsu protested as the apple his the back of his red head, letting go of Rook. Rook fell back on the couch and dozed off immediately, so, like a chain reaction, Ruko stirred immediately._

_"Eh? What's going on?" Ruko asked, rubbing her eyes._

_"RITSU WANTS TO DO SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN WITH YOU-" I started blurting but Ritsu jumped off the couch daintily and tackled me to the ground._

_"SHUSH, Len, SHUSH," Ritsu said firmly and Ruko raised her eyebrow._

_"Ritsu are you cheating on me with LEN?" Ruko demanded._

_"Pfft, no," Ritsu rolled his eyes, "Why would I date HIM?" _

_"Hey! There's nothing wrong with me!" I denied._

_"So you DO want me, Lenny?" Ritsu asked, batting his eyelids._

_"NO." _

_Yuki laughed, "Ritsu and Len-Len sitting in a tree!~"_

_"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Yuma joined in and Ruko ended up throwing a pillow at Yuki to shut her up._

_"She's mine, I say, MIIINE!" Ruko yelled. Ruko was one of the only people who referred to Ritsu as a 'she'; which was probably why Ritsu loved her. Then again, maybe Ruko only did that because she knew how annoying it was for people to disrepect your likes in gender._

_Ritsu got up, sitting at Ruko's side, who fell onto his shoulder. Ritsu stroked her hair and Ruko purred; legit purred. Just like Rook had the tendancies of a dog, Ruko had the tendancies of a cat. _

_"Oh god, you two are not starting that again!" Yuki said, throwing the pillow back at the couple, "You guys have no boundaries, seriously." _

_Ritsu shrugged, "Oh fine, we'll go the closet-"_

_"No, you won't!" Yuki said, "I'm going to go get Oliver, he's probably hell bored of doing his homework by now. When I come back, you two better still be wearing your shirts."_

_"Pfft, like I'm going to show you guys my missiles," Ritsu rolled his eyes and I smirked. _

_Yuki rolled her eyes and headed out of the room, closing the door on her way._

_"NOW," Ritsu said, standing up, "Len, Yuma, get in the cupboard."_

_"NEVER!" I yelled._

_"DO IT OR I GIVE YOU PURPLE NURPLES!" Ritsu ordered._

_"Still no!" I squealed as Ritsu attempted to grab me, "Ack!" _

_At that moment, the door burst open and a certain silver-haired, red-eyed girl appeared._

_"RITSU WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO MY LEN?!" Tei screamed, smashing her fist into Ritsu's face. Ritsu yelped as Tei kept punching him and I edged away._

_"Wait... 'My Len'?" Yuma asked curiously. _

_"My thoughts exactly," Ruko frowned, making no attempt to help Ritsu from where he was being strangled in a head lock by Tei._

_"Oh my god, she's a yandere!" Yuma said, "How did I not see this earlier?" _

_"Dandere cross yandere," Ruko corrected him, before wincing, "Oh man, that's got to hurt."_

_"RUKO WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!" Ritsu screamed. _

_"Use your missiles or something," Ruko shrugged, yawning, stretching and falling back on the bed, "I'm too tired for this shit." _

_"What do you even DO at night?!" Ritsu yelped, "If I find you're cheating on me with Rook and that's why you're both so tired-"_

_"No a single thought goes through that girl's head that isn't perverted, I swear," Ruko rolled her eyes, before snuggling the pillow on the couch, "I'll be in the land of nod if anyone needs me~"_

_"I NEED YOU, RUUUUUUUKO!" Ritsu yelled, so Ruko got up, rolled her eyes and shoved Tei off of Ritsu. _

_"He touched my Len!" Tei said._

_"SHE did not," Ruko said, as Ritsu cowered behind Ruko. So much for 'missiles'. _

_"You do realise Ritsu is just a cross-dresser, you know," Tei rolled her eyes._

_Ruko went to say something but shut her lips, before responding with, "You should just accept that Ritsu wants to be called female and shut up."_

_"Ritsu should just accept Len doesn't WANT to be touched by his perverted hands-"_

_"RITSU IS A GIRL!" Ruko yelled._

_"NO HE'S NOT!"_

_"HE IS IF HE WANTS TO BE!"_

_"You guys are going to ruin the surprise, you know," I sighed, not that they could hear. Yuki burst through the door, hitting them both over the head._

_"YOU BAKAS-"_

_"NO JAPANESE!" _

_"-OLIVER AND I HEARD YOU FROM THE SECOND FLOOR! GOOD JOB RUINING THE SURPRISE!"_

_"Ritsu felt Len!" Tei retorted._

_"And Tei disrespected Ritsu's choice to be called a female!" Ruko yelled. Oliver stood in the doorway, arms over his chest._

_"Excuuuse me, but this is supposed to about MOI." Oliver said, annoyed. Ruko, Tei and Yuki kept arguing, as Ritsu tried slinking away, but Tei grabbed him._

_"NO, YOU'RE STAYING HERE, CROSS-DRESSER BOY!"_

_"RITSU IS A GIRL!" _

_"Hey, wanna go get some chips or something?" I asked Oliver and Yuma._

_"But the caaaaake," Oliver whined._

_I shrugged, walking over the food table, grabbing the plate and waltzing out with Oliver, Yuma and the cake, heading upstairs. We could still hear the girls bickering downstairs and Ritsu trying to escape and come join us at every possible outcome._

_"Poor Ritsu," Yuma laughed, "Forever attacked." _

_"Poor Yuma," I said, "Forever alone."_

_"Poor Len," Yuma retorted, "Forever Shota."_

_"NO JAPANESE!" Oliver imitated Ritsu and we all cracked up laughing, bounding through the doors to the boys' bedroom. As usual, Yuma's side of the room was immaculate; not a single thing out of place, whereas Oliver's was an atomic bomb of mess; there seemed to be an invisible line in which dust and mess just stopped._

_Their previous roommates had asked to move rooms, due to Oliver's sleep walking, obnoxiousness and general messiness. Whenever I stayed over, I slept on the bottom bunk of Yuma's side; so that's why Ritsu said I was Yuma's uke. Honestly... It's just a bunk bed..._

_Besides, everyone knows I'd totally be the seme- WAIT WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING?! _

_"I vote videogames," Yuma said. _

_"Sing star!" Oliver enthused, "Sing star, sing, star, sing star!" _

_"You only say that because that's the only game you can play." Yuma said._

_"Oh, and one of the dances on 'Just Dance', because Yuki taught him," I winked suggestively and Oliver flushed._

_"Oh shut up, Len."_

_"We alll know she had to touch you to teach you the moves~" I teased, and Yuma and I immediately started singing 'Kiss Me'. _

_"THAT ISN'T EVEN THE DANCE SHE TAUGHT ME!" Oliver flushed red._

_"But you asked her too~" Yuma laughed, as he jumped back on the first bunk of his bed. Yuma had gone for a scholarship, just as Oliver had, but hadn't gotten through. He was still trying to get a scholarship, and praying his rich aunt would finally loan him some money; she owed him for ditching him, after all. _

_"Can we pleeease play sing star?" Oliver begged, "Pleeeeeeeeeease."_

_I rolled my eyes, "Ah, I suppose it IS your birthday..." _

_Yuma got up, turning on the TV, console and handing Oliver a microphone. _

_"Oh, yeah, the presents!" Yuma said, realising they were still in the den downstairs._

_"Later," Oliver said, happy Yuma would actually turn on the sing star for once, "When the girls calm their farms." _

_I laughed, selecting a song Oliver knew. He began singing his heart out as I joined in with the song, Yuma humming in the background. After the song, Oliver bothered us with who won._

_"I won," I lied, "By like, five hundred points. You got 'Tone Deaf'." _

_"That means you got 'Tone Deaf' too," Oliver smirked, "Now, real scores."_

_"Oh fine, you got 7812 and I got 6120..." I sighed and Oliver celebrated._

_"LAND SLIDE!" Oliver cheered. Truth be told, he only beat me by 100 points, but his reaction was worth my dignity. Yuma tapped his nose and I grinned. _

_"My turn to choose a song," Yuma said, grabbing the remote control and landing on 'Magnet', laughing evilly._

_"NO," I said firmly, "NO."_

_"What?" Oliver asked, but froze when the preview music started, "You. Are. The. Devil." _

_"Who's singing the girl part?" Yuma asked as he selected the song._

_"WE'RE NOT DOING THAT SONG!" We yelled._

_"Jeez, it's only a SONG," Yuma rolled his eyes, "Besides, I'll pay you both twenty pounds if you sing it."_

_"...Twenty each?" I asked._

_"Mhmm," Yuma said. _

_"He is!" Oliver said quickly, "And we'll do it!" _

_"H-h-hey!" I said._

_"Oh come off it, Len, everyone knows you'd be the uke." _

_"I WOULD NEVER BE A UKE WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY I WOULD?!" I asked angrily. _

_"I wonder," Yuma said, "Maybe it's the ponytail, or the round eyes, or the fact you have very curvy hips for a guy. OR-"_

_"Says you, pink hair," I retorted. _

_"Pfft, I'm taller than you, so I'd be seme," Yuma rolled his eyes._

_"Why are we even having this conversation..." I said quietly. _

_"Also, the tsundere is always the uke; everyone knows that." Oliver pointed out._

_"I'M NOT A TSUNDERE!" _

_"You keep telling yourself that," Oliver patted me on the back as Yuma started the song._

_"Sing or you don't get your money~" Yuma teased. I flushed and began singing the GIRL's part anyway. I didn't like it at all. However, when it came to the boy's part, Oliver got REALLY into it. I mean dancing around, swinging his hips into it. _

_I cracked up laughing as Oliver batted his eyelids and continued singing, his voice raising an octave as if it just broke. _

_I was too busy laughing to sing, so Oliver just rose his voice even HIGHER to sing it, til he sounded like a chipmunk. _

_"Like my Len impression?" Oliver asked._

_"So accurate it's scary!" Yuma said._

_"H-h-hey!" I protested, unfortunately, my voice broke as I said this, which caused them to crack up laughing all over again as I went bright pink and folded my arms over my chest. _

_"TOTALLY uke!" Yuma said._

_"SHUT UP." _

_[...]_

_"I'm home!" I yelled as I entered through the door to my run-down house, three hours later. It was quiet, which was odd. Usually, I'd be created by mum singing or complaining about how late am I, and how dinner had gone cold in the pot._

_"You're late," A voice grumbled. A froze, shivers going down my spine. Oh god, he was home already? _

_"Uh, s-sorry, my friends and I got carried away with our homework-" I started._

_"No excuses, boy, you know you're supposed to be home by nine at the latest," Leon said gruffly, from where he was reading his newspaper on the couch in the corner. _

_"S-sorry, f-father," I stammered, gulping and looking to the floor, before realising what I'd said, "I-I mean! Sir. Sorry sir." _

_He grunted, "Hold out your wrists." _

_I flinched immediately, wishing I was anywhere but there._

_"Hold out your wrists," Leon repeated, before spitting, "Boy." _

_I sighed, holding out my wrists in front of me as Leon got up and walked towards me. Moments later, a belt whipped down on my wrists and I yelped, wincing as my wrists stung. _

_"Go to your room." Leon said, "You're grounded for a week."_

_"Y-y-yes, s-s-sir." I nodded, rubbing my wrists as I headed to my bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I curled up in a ball and cried._

**I just received a review saying this wasn't very realistic and I'm like... Uh... No... It isn't really... But it is FICTION so... **

**Ah, I don't know. A lot of my friends and I have been bullied quite a lot and lost a few people in our lives, yet we carry on laughing like there's no tomorrow. So, I suppose, that may be the core of it. Besides, if I didn't make that happen, how many people would complain about all the crying? Everyone would be demanding less crying and more romance; and comedy kind of helps me with that.**

**May I just say first; I'm so happy I've had over 7,000 views, 170 reviews, 40 faves, 54 follows and 3 C2s! This is amazing, everyone, and I feel that even though I'm kind of getting writer's block and I have absolutely NO idea what's going to happen next (so it's a bit out of order...) that this may end up being a great story. **

**I'm feeling a bit suspicious of all these anonymous reviews saying things aren't realistic or something's a bit off... I'm starting to get the feeling it's just one person. However, they are fair points, but if I change them, I change the entire story; and I've found quite a few people like how the story's coming along; I had two complaints about removing chapter 17, and how some people liked the gore chapter; but, mostly, the comedy chapter went down better with you all. **

**Ah, I think maybe I should start just writing kind of science fiction stories; I seem to manage them - and fantasy - better... What do you all think? No matter what, I promise I'll keep writing Not A Fan until it's finished ;)**

**WINNER OF THE ONE-SHOT CONTEST IS: ILuvBananas, who asked for a Gumi x Len one-shot. One-shot may be up soon (depends if I get a half decent idea... xD).**

**If you review, I'll send y'all a Uke!Len (Len: HEY.) as a reward ;)**


	19. Chapter 19 - Flashback Chapter 2

**A/N: So! Flashback chapter #2! If you're curious as to why I'm writing flash back chapters, it's because I wanted to add some more depth to Oliver and Len's friendship. I HOPE I'm achieving that and not just wasting time... **

**Also, Sadako, I wasn't talking about you when I said someone complained about it not being realistic xD**

**Their review went "Oh my god, don't go saying this is a high school drama 'friendship/romance' thing and then throw in all the shit you have. It needs to be a lot more realisitic." And there were several saying similar things with the same types of spelling errors; none of which I approved.**

**Your point has been taken fairly; and I knew that the previous chapter 17 was horrible, and your review made me confirm that. I don't see you as a hater, because your review was just pointing out faults in the story ^^**

_It wasn't long after Christmas I moved into the orphanage. _

_The authorities came to the house, arrested my father and took my mother, who had been beaten with a baseball bat, to hospital. I hadn't been paying attention when they'd asked if I had any relatives or friends in the area. In the end, they checked records and found all my relatives lived in Japan, and most of them they couldn't get in contact with._

_Well; dad's side of the family HAD always been hostile, and mum's always a mystery. So, having only one option left, they took me to the orphanage down the road. I was too numb, too upset to say anything, to say that mum would come back from the hospital soon, and there was no need. My lips couldn't form the words._

_When the police were talking to Sonika, someone I recognised and saw as a motherly figure even back then, I said nothing. She kept hugging me and stroking my hair, trying to reassure me it was alright. I didn't even look at her; I just stared blankly out the window at the snowy grounds outside. _

_"Oh my god, Len!" A voice came. Yuki grabbed Oliver and raced into the dining hall where I was slumped in a chair as Sonika talked with the police. Sonika asked Yuki to be a bit quieter, but was completely ignored._

_"Len, why are you here?" Oliver asked quietly._

_"Len, are you okay?" Yuki added._

_I started crying loudly as my friends hugged supportively, leading me up to Oliver's room, where Yuma also joined in on the hugging and reassuring. I ended up falling asleep, as did everyone else. When I woke up, we were all in an awkward position; half on the bed, half on the floor. Yuma had managed to curl up comfortably, but his foot was in my face and I was slipping off. Oliver was lying on the floor, and Yuki had also fallen off and ended up in Oliver's arms. _

_I smiled to myself, noting how peaceful both of them seemed and getting up, wiping the stale tears from my face. I looked outside at the clear sky, all the snow having fallen to the ground last night. A part of me just wanted to keep crying, all the time, but as I looked to my friends, I realised, I had to stay strong. Even if I broke on the inside, I'd have to be strong for them and just forget the past, moving on. _

_It was the only way, really. If I just chose to forget, maybe, in a couple of years, I could just continue my life normally and ignore the past. As I got up, my eyes darted to the calender and I realised._

_"Happy birthday me..." _

_[...]_

_"Len you're supposed to DODGE the missiles," Ritsu said angrily, "Honestly, if it were MY missiles, you'd be dead..."_

_"Well thank god virtual missiles don't do much damage when you have KICK ASS ARMOUR instead of a DRESS." I said, "Honestly, Ritsu, you're supposed to get a dress if your character's a dancer! Not if your character walks around with a bazooka!" _

_"Honestly, Len, I thought it was blatantly obvious I AM a dancer who walks around with a bazooka. Jeez." Ritsu retorted, as his character jumped up and down on the screen, swinging the bazooka from side to side threateningly. His character was over dressed, in a loli dress with orange hems and trimmings, and a small, black hat on the fountain of red hair. Of course, his character was female._

_I mean, when isn't he female? Wait, no, that doesn't make sense..._

_"Why are you two jumping all over the place? We're supposed to be heading into the palace," Yuma tutted on the other side of the head piece, his pink-haired mage jumping impatiently._

_"Stop jumping," I said into the microphone, "You're making me dizzy. Why do you guys have to make your characters so damned colourful?"_

_"Colour is beauty, Len!" Yuma said. He'd gone overboard; making his staff have every possible power-up gem, instead of just switching between weapons like every NORMAL player, also putting every single power-up gem in his armour. I swear he hacked the game to get that many gems, or just successfully stole from me millions of times..._

_I'd stayed NORMAL, putting in a max defense gem in my blank armour, but besides that, kept it normal. I had four swords; lightning, fire, ice and maximum damage; which I switched between in battle. Ritsu just spammed his bazooka missile attack until we all dropped out from lag. _

_"There's such thing as too much colour, you thief." I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I know you stole those gems from my stash..."_

_"It's not like you were USING them or anything," Yuma said, "Besides, my attacks are so effective and devastating-"_

_"And at the same time may not even affect an enemy."_

_"-so don't complain, because I at least left all the thunder, ice and fire gems, because I knew you needed them to create your swords," Yuma continued, "So don't complain; Ritsu stole half of your money supplies to buy that bazooka."_

_"And half of yours to pay for the rest," I added._

_Meanwhile, Ritsu was yelling in glee, his avatar jumping around happily, dress floating upwards as he leapt up on the rooves of nearby houses, shooting at random players entering the town._

_"Ritsu stop!" I cried, "Yuma and I have bad computers! We're going to crash, dammit!" _

_"Well sorrry," Ritsu said sarcastically, "Can we go on public chat? I'm getting messages about people trying to contact me."_

_"Most likely to tell you to stop shooting everything..." Yuma said._

_"Or put on something appropriate," I added._

_"Or ask my sexiness on a date," Ritsu said. _

_"Oh pfft," Yuma laughed, "Like anyone would date your craziness."_

_"Well, stop with the names and personal stuff, because we're going public~!" Ritsu said happily, as a warning saying I'd switched to public chat rose._

_"What the HELL are you doing, CrazyBazooka12?" Someone growled on the other side of the headphone._

_"Just having fun~!" Ritsu teased._

_"Well can you stop 'having fun'? Becuase you're lagging my entire team and we're all going to drop out if you keep it up," The guy said. _

_"For a price, sure," Ritsu offered._

_"You making fun of me?" The guy spat. I quickly checked the chatroom; the guy talking was called Leeks10 and had a team of four other members. I quickly scanned through the profiles of his team; holy crap, they were high levels. I was almost up to their levels, but Yuma and Ritsu were nowhere near; typical. _

_"Not at all," Ritsu said, "I'm just saying, if you don't want me to continue my fun, you ought to pay me something; about 100 gold pieces will suffice."_

_"Shit, stop, have you even LOOKED at their levels?" I spat at Ritsu, "I'm not really in the mood to respawn back in that bandit town 500 metres away!" _

_"Oh shush, Banana," Ritsu told me, "We can deal with them."_

_"Shit, dude, if you challenge them, I'm so leaving the party." I said. _

_"Whatever, we still know the passcode to your base," Ritsu said, "And you've got plenty of gold just sitting in there."_

_"Bazooka, if you wanna fight me one on one, I'm up for it," The voice said, "So your party won't have to get involved." _

_"My party is full of chickens," Ritsu scoffed._

_I rolled my eyes, "You can go die if you want, I'll just go with pink hair and get a drink or something and wait for you to make your way back to the city."_

_"Hey, Banana, right?" Leek said, "How about you join our team? I mean, you seem pretty tough and smart."_

_"Ah, I would, but my friends need me. Otherwise they'd be gone in five seconds, if you know what I mean." I laughed, as did Leek. _

_"Oi, we could manage just fine without you!" Ritsu protested. I unsheathed my character's sword._

_"Wanna go, Bazooka?" I asked._

_"YOU'RE ON." _

_I rolled my eyes, disconnecting from the party and easily finishing Ritsu in three hits with my thunder sword. _

_"FUCK YOU LEN." Ritsu screamed on party chat as I rejoined the party, "NOW I HAVE TO WALK 500 METRES!" _

_"Oh shut up, I'll buy you a drink and you can go hit on some knight or something." I rolled my eyes, "Baby."_

_"I heard that!"_

_"I meant you to!" I retorted. Yuma was cracking up laughing in the ear piece. _

_"Ow! Yuki, don't thump me!" Yuma complained._

_I was sitting in one of the dens, playing the game on one of the laptops and Yuma was in one of the other dens, being bothered by Yuki, who was trying to read to Oliver._

_"Ha, you got THUMPED." Ritsu said._

_"And you got your ass handed to you by a uke." Yuma retorted._

_"Hey!" I protested, "I'm not a uke! I'm not even GAY!" _

_"You keep telling yourself that, Len," Yuma laughed._

_"I wish you were; I totally ship you and Ollie-kins-"_

_"Say that again and I'll fly back to your checkpoint just to hand your ass to you again," I growled. _

_"Ooo, Lenny's in denial-"_

_I was already selecting using a transportation move to fly over to the town Ritsu was in, and landed in front of the bar, heading inside to where Ritsu was, without a doubt, making his character and drunk as shit. Whenever your character gets drunk, you get stars, which increase your character's happiness. Depending on the type of character you chose and how you play, the character's stress levels rise differently. Wiping the floor with someone also gives you stars. _

_Ritsu, however, just drinks to get all his stars, instead of fighting people; then again, his character is always too dizzy to get a good aim on anything. _

_"OH SHIT HE'S GOING TO KILL ME AGAIN, YUMA, HELP!" Ritsu yelled into the head piece as his character leapt up and over the bar, knocking down tonnes of cups and causing some AIs to pound him with their fists. _

_I laughed as he took damage from other drunks._

_"My star level is low, and this is the best bar," I said, "Jeez, no need to be paranoid."_

_"...You damn troll!" Ritsu said, before yelling as his character was thumped to death by AIs. Yuma cracked up laughing again, as Ritsu's death appeared in party chat._

_My character sat down and had the rest of Ritsu's drink, before stumbling up and flying back to the city where Yuma was._

_"Ah, shit, we gotta get off, Len," Yuma said, "Sonika's going around telling us to turn off the computers."_

_"Mmk, see you around, Boobzooka," I said, using my favourite pet name for Ritsu._

_"I hate you with passion, Len, with PASSION." Ritsu said angrilly, before I flicked off the head piece and set it up on the hook, stretching. _

_"Len! Time to turn it off!" Sonika chirped at the door._

_"Yep, Yuma told me," I said, edging out of my chair._

_"I heard there's a contest at the school soon," Sonika said, "The annual contest; where one student gets a record deal." _

_"I know," I said, "Everyone's calling it the 'Super Star Contest' and making a big fuss of it." _

_"Are you entering?" Sonika asked._

_I shrugged, "I dunno, maybe. I'll need to compose three songs though, so I'm thinking maybe next year. Besides, Oliver's entering... He's got three amazing songs under his belt, and he can easily make it through. I don't really want to risk taking his place."_

_"Well, you're confident you'd win, eh?" Sonika asked._

_I shrugged, "Mr. Al said if I did, I'd be on his top ten list. And that man doesn't say things like that unless he really means them. He said I'd probably be the school's best hope of being an international star but... I don't know. I don't think I'm ready to leave the orphanage and the school; to leave all my friends behind."_

_Truth be told, I'd never had such good friends. All my other friends left me when I moved to VocaTone, and none of them did anything when news of my parents got out. Yuki, Oliver, Yuma, Ritsu; they'd all been there for me, ever since my first day at VocaTone. It was kind of nostalgic. _

_"You should at least give it a shot, right?" Sonika asked, "I mean, you may never get a chance like this. Your skills may differ, the taste of the audience may change and then you won't be the prime person to be a star. If you don't leap over the gap, you'll have no chance of making it to the other side; and right now is your best chance to get across."_

_I looked at her for a few moments, "Do you have sayings for everything?"_

_Sonika laughed, "Ah... Yeah, probably. I suppose Lola's really rubbing off on me, eh?" _

_I smiled at her, before heading up to my bedroom. I should enter, I told myself, I should give it a go, see how far I can get. _

_"Len," Oliver said, as he exited the den with Yuki and Yuma, "Are you auditioning tomorrow?"_

_"I dunno," I shrugged._

_"Well," Oliver said slowly, "What does your gut tell you to do?"_

_"My gut and brain tell me to take the chance while I can, but my heart says to just leave it," I sighed, "I don't want to leave you guys..."_

_"We're touched, Len, really," Yuki smiled, "But you heard Al; you're one of the best singers at the academy at the moment. If you go for it, we'll support you all the way."_

_"Besides!" Oliver said, throwing his arm over my shoulder, "Ritsu and I are going for it too! Nothing quite like friendly competition to drive you on, eh?" _

_I laughed, "Yeah, I suppose I may just audition..."_

_[...]_

_The next morning, we all woke up to a high-pitched squeal from a room a few doors across. I shot up, banging my head on the bed as I rubbed it sorely and looked around the room. Yuma leapt off his bunk immediately, and we both exchanged looks as we realised Oliver was missing from his bed._

_"Holy crap; he sleep walks when he's nervous..." Yuma said._

_"And the audition would surely make him nervous..." We both sprinted down the hallway to where everyone else was slowly waking and exchanging looks. Bursting into the door, we realised it was Yuki's room that she shared with Yukari, her older sister Lola and Galaco. _

_"GET OUT OF MY BED OLIVER!" Yuki yelled, trying to shove the blonde-haired boy off of her bed. He didn't move, drool dripping from his mouth as he snored noisily, arms lying in all directions, "OFF I SAY!" _

_Yuma and I began laughing, as Yukari and Galaco stirred._

_"What the hell?" Yukari asked, rubbing her head. Yukari was one of Yuki's best friends, due to their shared love for bunnies. Lola, Yuki's older sister, had pulled the pillow over her head and was trying to get some shut eye in the madness. Galaco, a girl with rainbow streaks in her fringe, adjusted a crown on her head as she rubbed her eyes._

_"LEN! YUMA! DO SOMETHING!" Yuki yelled at us, kicking at Oliver and trying to force him off the bed, "Holy shit he's heavy. How is that possible?"_

_"He's made of awesomeness," Yuma quoted, "And apparently awesomeness weighs lots." _

_"That, or it's the sweets," I grinned, "Here, I'll help."_

_Waltzing over to Oliver, Galaco started mumbling something about how boys weren't permitted in the girls' rooms. I leant close to Oliver's ear, whispering the one, magical word that would wake the boy from a coma, give him energy after a 24 hour marathon, heck, it could give him the courage to ask Yuki out if we used it properly. What did I say? Well, it's quite simple. I said:_

_"Chocolate."_

_Oliver shot up immediately, hitting his head as I had. _

_"WHERE?!" He demanded._

_"GET OUT!" Yuki yelled, kicking him more._

_"Yuki, what the hell are you doing in my bed?" Oliver asked._

_"Better question; what the hell are you doing in MY bed?" Yuki growled, and Oliver murmured an 'Oh' before falling out of the bed and onto the floor, taking the blankets with him._

_"Jesus, you're a pervert..." Yuki said, "I can't believe I considered dating you..."_

_"HEY, blame the sleep-walking!" Oliver yelled in defiance, "There's nothing wrong with dating me..."_

_"YOU'RE PERVERTED, WEIRD, SERIOUSLY CREEPY, ANNOYING AND A TOTAL SHOTA, NOW GET OUT!" Yuki raged. Yuma and I grabbed Oliver's arms and dragged him out as he started to protest. _

_"You okay, Oliver?" I asked, as we stopped dragging him and he slumped in a pile. _

_"Rejection stings, yeah, yeah, get over it," Yuma said flippantly, "Honestly, I know the feeling. Remember? Galaco rejected me about three times-"_

_"YUMA YOU ARE NOT HELPING." I said, hitting the pink-haired baka over the head, "Oliver, you okay?" _

_Oliver sighed, "I should just stop trying, shouldn't I?"_

_"If you did that, you wouldn't be Oliver," I said lightly and smiled. Oliver said nothing for a few seconds. _

_"Is that what I am? An annoying kid who pesters everyone?..." _

_"No," I said, "You're awesomeness itself. And don't you let anyone forget it."_

_[...]_

_It was weeks after the first audition. The results were being announced via the announcement speakers, and we all waited impatiently in the cafeteria at lunch. Oliver was stirring his hot chocolate with a chocolate stick, convinced he hadn't gotten through. Yuki reassured him that he was one of the best singers she knew. _

_"Really?" He asked._

_"Yeah," Yuki beamed, "You're way better than me and I think your voice is beautiful." _

_Oliver flushed, trying to hide his face, causing Ritsu and I to exchange looks and cough suggestively. Oliver gave us looks that, considering he couldn't see facial expressions, were killer. _

_The speakers in the corners of the crowded cafeteria crackled, signalling a broadcast was starting. Everyone immediately fell silent. _

_"Hello, students," Came the gruff voice of Mr. Al, "I'm making this announcement to broadcast the winners of the annual record deal contest, however, before I do so, let us think of last year's winner." _

_Everyone stayed silent._

_"Last year's winner was a young, talented man, by the name of Yohio; who came from VocaTone. Since winning his record deal, Yohio has gone on to create many other, popular albums and has become quite popular in America, Japan-"_

_"Ugh," Ritsu interrupted._

_"And Korea."_

_"Yay!" Ritsu cheered, and Yuki and I told him the shush._

_"We had over a hundred students audition over the past two weeks, and I am pleased to say our judges have found fifteen students fit to go through. These fifteen students will go to a big music school in America for a month, in which they will train harder and go through final auditions with three songs written by themselves. Out of those fifteen and the other thirty-five students from various music schools around the world, one will gain a record deal and will become a singer or musician." Al explained._

_We all knew the deal, and all had permission to go overseas for a month already; even though Sonika had been VERY hesistant to sign Oliver's form. _

_"The fifteen students who have passed are the following." _

_Everyone shuffled in their seats nervously. _

_"Yvette Sumners." _

_Some cheers rose from the girl's table, as she darted off to the office. Al called two more names that weren't familiar._

_"Ritsu Namine." _

_Everyone on our table burst into applause as Ritsu got up, red in the face and nervous as hell, picking up his skirt and dashing off to the office. We all beamed, ecstatic one of us had gotten through. I was so happy for Ritsu, I was only half paying attention when they called the next name._

_"Len Kagamine."_

_"Len!" Oliver cheered, hugging me happily. I was shell-shocked. A bomb had hit me. I was through. At least, I supposed, I'd spend the next month with Ritsu. That would be fun-_

_"Oliver." _

_"OH MY GOD!" Yuki squealed, leaping up and taking us all by surprise by kissing Oliver. I don't mean on the cheek either; like, full-on on the lips._

_When she pulled away, she hugged Oliver tightly, before shoving him away before he managed to stammer anything idiotic._

_"Hurry up, you two! You need to get to the principal's office, now!" Yuki said, excitedly. Her eyes were sad, but she was happy for Oliver and I all the same. I took Oliver's sleeve and led him out of the cafeteria and towards the principal's office._

_"Len..." Oliver started._

_"Yes, Yuki kissed you."_

_"Okay, so I'm not just fantasising." Oliver confirmed, and I laughed gleefully as we headed up to the principal's office. _

_Ritsu greeted us happily, squealing higher than a girl could've ever managed._

_"YOU GUYS! THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME, ALL THREE OF US!" Ritsu squealed excitedly, jumping up and down so girly-like I was seriously starting to confuse his gender. More than usual, I mean. _

_I couldn't believe a fifth of the contestants from the school were in our group; out of the hundred students that auditioned, us three got through. It was amazing._

_"SAY RUKO YOKUNE!" Ritsu ordered Al from a distance, "DO IIIIIT." _

_It was ironic, really, that Oliver finally got a response out of Yuki before going away for a month. As the last few winners arrived, Ritsu began yelling all sorts of evil about how Ruko should be there instead, mainly saying Miku should leave and let Ruko take her place._

_"You've been hanging around Tei too much..." I said, as Ritsu ranted at the teal-haired girl, his skirt flapping._

_"Um..." Miku said slowly, "Uh... Did I do something wrong?"_

_"Don't mind Ritsu; he's just insane." I told her._

_"...'He'?" Miku asked, quirking an eyebrow and looking at Ritsu, who was still jumping._

_"SO WHAT I'M A CROSS-DRESSER, GET OVER IT AND GET OUT THERE SO MY GIRLFRIEND CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE!" Ritsu said angrilly. _

_"..Um..." Miku stammered, "I-I'm sorry your girlfriend didn't get through b-but-"_

_"BUT NOTHING!" Ritsu snapped, "I blame you! You entirely! YOU HIDEOUS TEALETTE!" _

_"Ritsu!" I said, "Calm your farm! Seriously, man, you do NOT need to go making enemies!" _

_I banged him on the head and he whimpered._

_"But Tei's always saying she's evil-"_

_"And Tei is certificately insane," I reminded him._

_"And I'm a cross-dresser." Ritsu reminded me._

_I rubbed my temple, "Just shush..." _

_"But Ruuuuuko-"_

_"What about Yuki?!" Oliver asked, "She's an amazing singer! She deserves to be here too!"_

_"RUKO IS BETTER."_

_"YUKI!"_

_"RUKO!"_

_"YUKI!"_

_"RUKO!"_

_I banged both of their heads together and they whined._

_"Len, that wasn't nice," Oliver whined._

_"No shit, that really hurt, Len." Ritsu frowned at me._

_"Just shut up. Please; if you're like this the entire time, I'm not going to be able to deal with you guys." I sighed, rubbing my head tiredly. _

_"Are they always like this?" Miku asked curiously._

_"Pretty much," I sighed._

_"Want to borrow a leek?" Miku offered, "They're very useful for hitting people over the head with." _

_"Hmmm..." I said, considering it as the idiots went back to fighting over which girl was a better singer, "I'll have to consider that."_

_Miku laughed, "Just tell me any time you want one; I've got plenty spare." _

_"RUKO!" Ritsu yelled, thumping Oliver on the shoulder._

_"YUKI!" Oliver yelled back, flailing his arms and managing to hit Ritsu, Miku and I in the faces, which we all groaned in response to._

_"Oliver, our noses!" I said, "Jeez! Don't just fling your arms around!" _

_"YYYYYYYUUUUUUUUKKKKKKIIIIII!" Oliver yelled, flailing even more._

_"Does he need medication?" Miku asked, ducking as Oliver flung his arm near her. _

_"Probably," I said, "Oh damn, Oliver, we were going to get you tested this weekend!"_

_"No you weren't," Oliver said, "I'd never let you. I'm not insane." _

_Ritsu coughed, "Yes you are." As Oliver's hand flew into Ritsu's nose._

_"Damn, Oliver, stop." Ritsu grumbled, "Or I twist your nipple."_

_Oliver yelped, jumping back and covering his chest, "You're sick, Ritsu!" _

_Ritsu laughed evilly and Miku raised her eyebrow._

_"I think you need to get them BOTH tested." Miku advised._

_"Oh, Ritsu's been tested," I said, casually striking conversation, "He was kicked out in the first ten minutes for trying to give the psychiatrist a purple nurple when he said Ritsu 'may have problems'." _

_Miku grinned, "And that only proves it." _

_"Exactly." I said, as Ritsu managed to get the squirming Oliver in a head lock._

_Al turned his attention to us, completely ignoring Oliver and Ritsu and allowing them to continue brawling as he listed to things we had to bring with us. Eight outfits, our music folders we used for lessons, toiletries, personal belongings, etc., etc.; I doubted Ritsu and Oliver were even listening half the time._

_The school kids were to go home early, pack their bags and come back, before heading on a bus to the airport and flying to America overnight. I had a feeling the long flight would be even longer with Ritsu and Oliver..._

_[...]_

_However, thirty minutes into the flight, Oliver fell asleep in the aisle seat, whilst Ritsu was pinned to the window, gazing at the blue sky outside. It was, after all, Ritsu's first time on a plane; so it was natural he got excited by the whole thing._

_I was just sitting there, reading a book. _

_"Hey, Len, you bored?" Miku asked, leaning on the back of my seat._

_"Not really," I said, "I'm just reading my book."_

_"Ah, well, if you don't want me to disturb you, I won't." Miku offered a smile, "I was just wondering if you were the new guy my brother talked to. Like, ages ago, when you WERE new. His name's Mikuo."_

_"Ah, yeah, we spoke on my first day. He was pretty cool," I said._

_Miku smiled, "He thought it was you that got through; amazing how small the school is after all, huh? Anyway, I suppose I wish you good luck on the auditions!" _

_"Didn't you get into the finals last year, Miku?" Ritsu asked. He'd dropped the whole being hostile thing after Oliver had head-butted him really hard; he probably took brain damage. I mean, seriously, Oliver's skull is like steel or something._

_"Yeah," Miku smiled, "I was really close; but Hio overtook me. Ha... I'm amazed I got through this year too."_

_"Well, good luck to you too, eh?" I smiled, "Good luck to all of us."_

_"Not that I'll need it," Ritsu said, puffing out his... uh... 'chest', "I'll blow them away with a toss my of my hair and have them falling for me."_

_I smirked, "Ritsu, no." _

_Ritsu pouted, "Len, yes."_

_"Your looks are more likely to have them hiding under the table; especially if you explain they're 'missiles'." I said, gesturing vaguely._

_"Missiles?..." Miku trailed off, "Oh god..."_

_"These are not breasts, or a padded bra," Ritsu explained, "They are missiles that heat when I get excite-"_

_"AND SHUT UP." I said, as Miku hit him over the head... With a leek. Oh wow. She was serious... _

_I grinned._

_"Okay, yes, I definitely need one of those," I said. Miku handed me a leek which I smacked against my hand threateningly, glaring at Ritsu who pressed himself against the plane wall - as if trying to make himself invisible - and pulled a weird face._

_"No, not my beautiful face," He said, but it sounded more like 'Whoa, wot why bootiful fwace'. _

_I rolled my eyes, "Have you even thought of anything to sing yet, Ritsu?"_

_He nodded, "I'm singing Ritsu Ritsu Night Fever."_

_Oh god; I should've known. Ritsu's parody on a popular song by a retired singer called 'Luka Luka Night Fever'. She'd retired to take care of her son ages ago; but Ritsu ADORED her music and wanted to cover everything of hers. _

_"The singer's Japanese-"_

_"No, she isn't. She's English and can speak Japanese as well." Ritsu said, 'humphing' to make his point._

_"I'm Japanese," Miku said casually, "Moved to VocaTone because the Japanese music school was full-"_

_"SHUUUUUN!" Ritsu yelled, pointing at Miku, "SHUN THE JAPANESE! SHUUUUUN!"_

_We both hit him over the head with the leeks at the same time, high-fiving to celebrate our success. _

_"Shuuuuun," I sung, "Shuuuun the racist."_

_"SHUUUUUUUN." Miku added._

_"Don't hit meeeee!" Ritsu squealed, pressing himself to the side of the plane again. Oliver, meanwhile, slept soundly in the aisle seat, apparently not noticing any of this chaos taking place around him._

_"Everyone's entitled to their opinions!" Ritsu squealed as we bashed him with the leeks, "So what if I hate the Japanese- OW, Len, why are you trying to shove that thing up my nose?!" _

_Miku turned to me and spoke in Japanese, "Why ARE you trying to shove that thing up his nose."_

_I shrugged, replying in Japanese too, "He'd look ridiculous with a leek up his nose though, wouldn't he?"_

_"Hmm... Yes... He would... LET'S DO IT." _

_"ACK! STAAAAAAAHP!" _

_We laughed as I managed to get my leek up Ritsu's nose._

_"Why thank you," Ritsu said, his voice muffled by the leek, "For the nose accessory, darl."_

_We all laughed as Ritsu managed to remove the leek and snapped it in half. We ended up holding a mini funeral for the leek, 'burying' it in Miku's bag under all the other leeks. Oliver woke up and asked us what the hell we were even doing. _

_"Ritsu had a leek up his nose and he snapped it in half," I said._

_"OH. MY. GOD." Oliver stammered, "Dammit! I wish I wasn't blind just so I could see that!" _

_"Well, if you ever get an eye operation, I'll happily do it again so you can see it." I grinned evilly._

_"NO. Bad Len. NO." Ritsu said, hitting me with one of the leeks he'd stolen from Miku. I hit him back and Oliver managed to get hold of a leek and joined in with bashing Ritsu and I. Miku just laughed, before finally hitting us all on the head once and taking the leeks._

_"PURPLE NURPLE TIME." Ritsu declared loudly._

_"Holy shit, no, no, no, no, no!" I said, looking up and checking that the seatbelt light was off, unclicking my belt and racing away from Ritsu, who barged past Oliver and chased after me. I jumped over the seats, sitting beside Miku and putting on my seatbelt quickly as the light turned back on._

_"Namine, idiot, sit down!" Someone yelled, so Ritsu sat back in the window seat near Oliver. Miku giggled._

_"Why are you giggling?..." I asked suspiciously, eyeing the tealette next to me as she took out two leeks._

_"Hehehehe..." She said, handing Ritsu one of the leeks. _

_"TRAITOR!" I screamed, before they hit me on the head with their leeks._

_[...]_

_I woke up later, when night had fallen and we were flying through a curtain of darkness. It was beautiful; seeing the pitch black around us, with clouds drifting through it, the moon reflecting in the distance. _

_Miku was asleep next to me, holding one of her leek plushies; in fact, basically everyone on the plane was asleep. I got up, squishing past Miku and heading to the toilets at the back of the plane. _

_After going, I went back up to the seats and found Ritsu was sleeping against the window, whilst Oliver was half awake._

_"Oliver, why are you still awake?" I asked him, reaching up and grabbing my bag, looking through it for my sketchbook._

_"I can't sleep," Oliver sighed, "I keep thinking about what happened with Yuki..."_

_I laughed, "Why can't you sleep then? You guys are together, right?"_

_"I dunno," Oliver shrugged, "I don't think so; maybe it was just spur of the moment, you know..."_

_"If it were spur of the moment, I would've gotten a kiss too," I rolled my eyes, "Coz I'm like... Five times hotter than you."_

_"Oh pfft," Oliver smirked. I laughed, taking my drawing book and squeezing between him and Ritsu, who snored in defiance._

_"You shouldn't worry," I said, "You two will be all over each other when we get back. We'll end up locking you guys in a closet."_

_Oliver laughed, "That again? Honestly, I thought you'd drop any topic that can trace back to you being a uke-"_

_"I'm giving you the world's best death glare right now," I told him._

_"Pity, coz death glares don't work on me!" Oliver said cheerily._

_"This is what happens every time I try and give you girl advice..."_

_"Len, I don't need 'girl advice'. Honestly, you've never been kissed-"_

_"I have so!"_

_"-so you should be seeking my advice instead. And who?"_

_"A girl at my old school."_

_"Name?"_

_"...Um..." I started, "Gakuko." _

_"Pfft," Oliver said, "Sure, Len, sure. What kind of name is Gakuko anyway?"_

_"Her name!"_

_"Pfft."_

_"You're horrible, you know that right."_

_"I know." Oliver said cheerily. _

_I sighed, "Try and get some sleep, Ollie." _

_"I will if you sing the candy song," Oliver bargained, clinging to my arm, "Please, please, please!"_

_I sighed, "Well... I suppose candy doesn't make you sleep-walk... It's only chocolate that does..."_

_"Siiiing it!" Oliver begged._

_I'd taken the popular song 'Candy Candy Candy' and made a softer version of it, that Oliver absolutely adored as a lullaby. Oliver already had a love for all things sweets and songs, so combined, they were even better. _

_I sighed, smiling and ruffling his hair as I sang it for him. He fell asleep before I even managed to get the chorus, snoring lightly. Resting my head back on the chair, I stared at the off-white, metallic ceiling._

_I got through; I actually got through. And here I was, travelling to America for a month to try and win the record deal and possibly become a super star. A super star... _

_I tried to imagine it; millions of people lining up and watching my performance, begging me for an autograph, loving my music... Somehow, instead of seeing all of that glory, I saw lonliness. Sitting with a manager, bodyguard, other super stars; but, besides that, I'd have no-one. No strange, crazy friends like Oliver, who always tripped over his own feet and said the stupidest, most hilarious things, Ritsu, who was always making the perverted comments at the wrong times and being down-right crazy and loud, Yuki, who was probably the dictionary meaning of tsundere and was always serious, yet sometimes serious and Yuma, who has an obsession with pink things and overly colourful clothes, also making digs at people being uke or seme, yet always denying he was gay. _

_I'd have to say goodbye to all of them. Live a life full of 'important' famous people. I didn't know if I really wanted that._

_'Len, no matter what others say, your voice is one among millions; if the peoples of this world knew your voice as well as I, they would always love you. As an idol, an inspiration and as someone they strive to be.' My mother used to say. _

_I smiled to myself, looking at the sky, whispering to myself._

_"Someone they strive to be..." I said quietly, "Is that what you want me to be?... Is that what I should become?..."_

_Closing my eyes, I pictured my mother smiling at me happily, with her gold eyes and blonde locks... I yawned, buckling my seatbelt and falling back, drifting off to sleep._

_[...]_

_"Okay, Len, we're here and I'm getting hungry, so wake up!" Ritsu's voice teased, as I slowly peeled open my eyes. Sleeping on a plane wasn't exactly smooth; all night, I'd woken due to bumps, or someone else stirring, then fallen asleep from exhaustion. Last time I'd woken, it had been about ten, but I'd fallen asleep seconds later._

_Now, however, Ritsu loomed over me smiling creepily, "We're here, Len-Len."_

_I blinked a few times, my eyes straying out the window and noticing that not only was it daylight, but the surroundings were those of an airport. I gasped, realising I recognised it from pictures and movies I'd seen._

_We were in Vegas. _

_"Wow..." I said, "Las Vegas?" _

_"Yup!" Ritsu said, "Awesome huh? We can spend free time shopping, or doing all the other stuff that you can do in Vegas! Talk about a holiday within an opportunity." _

_Ritsu whistled happily, as I got up and rubbed my eyes._

_"Oliver, Miku and the others are already heading off the plane; it's taken me ages to get you to wake up..." Ritsu rolled his eyes._

_"I didn't sleep very well..." I said, standing on my toes and removing my luggage bag, slinging it over my shoulder._

_"None of us did," Ritsu yawned, "Everyone's looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight."_

_I smiled slightly, before heading out to the airport with Ritsu happily skipping by my side. Oliver and Miku weren't too far ahead, and Oliver was holding onto Miku's waist-length, teal pig tails. _

_"You should grow your pigtails even longer," Oliver said, "Then I can sit on them!" _

_Miku laughed, "You're adorable, you know that, right?"_

_Oliver huffed, tossing his hair dramatically, "I'm sorry, darling, but I'm taken."_

_Miku cracked up laughing and Ritsu and I hurried up to the two. _

_"It just occured to me." I said, frowning, "I'm the only normal person in this group..."_

_"Pfft, don't be so high and mighty," Ritsu said, "I'm normal."_

_"In another universe, maybe," I said._

_"Ah... How a long for a universe in which everyone cross-dresses... And has missiles for breasts..." Ritsu fantasised, "Oh, except the queen. The queen would have beautiful, multi-coloured eyes, with a stripe in her hair, and a habit for sleeping-"_

_"Right through wars, depression and other horrors," I sighed, "So amazing!"_

_"Like a world of Lens wouldn't be any better," Oliver smirked, "Everyone fussing over bananas and singing and their mother and 'being someone everyone else strives to become'-"_

_"YOU WERE AWAKE?!" _

_Oliver laughed loudly, jumping on Miku in a piggy back, "PIGGY BACK ME SLAVE!"_

_"AYE, CAPTAIN!" Miku said happily, jogging and purposefully bouncing Oliver as she went._

_"Let's just pray they never get together," Ritsu said by my side, "If they do... The world will end..."_

_"Agreed."_

_[...]_

_Despite Ritsu and I's original fears of Oliver and Miku getting together, nothing ever happened between them except for a brother-sister relationship; which, mind you, was even MORE annoying._

_By week two, Miku and Oliver had started a prank war - and, Ritsu, being the childish idiot he is, decided to assist Oliver in his pranks - and, of course, I was dragged into the mess. I sat at the breakfast hall on the second Thursday, eating the cereal that was served for the usual breakfasts. _

_None of the others had turned up yet; busy setting up morning pranks, no doubt. And I was up early, for once._

_I couldn't sleep; half of the winners that had come to the school had packed their bags and left, having failed in their upcoming exams and having to forfeit the competition. Somehow, Miku, Oliver and Ritsu still found time for their stupid prank war._

_I had a sheet of paper beside my breakfast bowl, the first few answers scrawled down messily as the thoughts and answers flowed into my head. I looked up. _

_The eating hall was quite large, with set spots and cuttlery in every occupied spot. When we'd first arrived, every single seat had been taken, making it hard to breathe, let alone move; now, it was only every third seat that had any sign of occupence._

_Sighing, I turned back to the maths questions; the hardest thing here was keeping up with your normal work, as well as extra rehearsals, recordings and a few performances that just jumped at you from out of the blue. If I'd thought balancing everything was difficult, I was certainly way over my head here._

_"Need help?" Someone asked. Sucking on a piece of milky cereal, I looked up and saw a blonde-haired girl, smiling at me good-naturedly._

_"Ah, yeah," I said, as she took a seat beside me. Her voice was thickly accented, and I recognised it as Japanese. Luckily, I was fluent, so I knew what she meant._

_She leant across the sheet, pointing to some of the answers and walking me through what I had to do. I nodded, paying attention and writing down the answers as she went through them._

_When I was finished, quite a few others were filtering in, coughing and yawning, helping themselves to the varieties of cereals. _

_"My name is Lenka," The girl explained, as she sipped on her banana-flavoured milk, chewing her cereal, "Yours?"_

_"Len," I smiled, "Len Kagamine."_

_She smiled, "How curious! My surname is also Kagamine; perhaps we're related?"_

_"Ah, I wouldn't doubt it," I said, "My father's family is pretty distance, so I don't really have any idea.."_

_"Well, I'll call you cousin," Lenka smiled._

_"LEN HELP ME!" Miku shrieked, "Ritsu and Oliver are trying to wax my hair! Help!"_

_She raced around the room, jumping over the tables and chairs, causing quite a few people to complain. Ritsu soon entered, armed with a razor, laughing sinisterly as he pursued Miku. Meanwhile, Oliver clung to the wall._

_"Ritsu! I don't know my way around! Help me!" Oliver complained._

_"COME HERE TWIN TAILS!" Ritsu crowed._

_"AAAAAAH!" Miku squealed._

_"...Do you know them?" Lenka asked._

_I laughed, "No, they're just three weirdos who stalk me."_

_"I DO NOT STALK YOU AND I AM NOT WEIRD." Oliver denied, causing us all to laugh._

_[...]_

_By Monday, Lenka was gone. She'd been unable to keep up with her schoolwork, bid us farewell and headed back to Japan ("Ugh," Ritsu complained), hoping she'd see us next year, if none of us got through._

_"At first, there were two hundred," Ritsu said in an airy detective voice, "Now, there is only fifty." _

_"And still, the four of us are here," Oliver sighed, "Dammit, are we the only VocaTone students left?"_

_"There's a few others," Miku explained, "But, from what I've heard, three of them are planning on leaving tomorrow; and that will mean ten VocaTone students have left."_

_"Wow..." Ritsu mused, "And then there will be only one besides us; be a shame if they lasted longer than all of us, eh?" _

_Oliver scoffed, "I'm here now; I'm NOT going down without a fight."_

_"Neither am I," Ritsu agreed, eyeing Miku and Len, "And you two had the best chances out of all the students that even auditioned at VocaTone; so there's hardly any doubt you guys will be in the top few left - you may even make it to the finals!" _

_"I hope we do!" Miku enthused, giving me a lopsided grin, "I'll see you in the finals, eh, Len?"_

_"Yeah," I grinned, "See you there."_

_Days passed, and, eventually, Ritsu pulled out of the prank war, saying he was up to his neck in homework. When he failed to turn in a biology test, and then was late with his geography, he started getting even more nervous, and being even slower with his turn-ins. It wasn't long before we were standing out the front of the school, hugging Ritsu and saying our goodbyes._

_"Good luck, you guys," Ritsu smiled, "You push through the last week, eh?" _

_"We'll miss you, Namine!" I yelled, waving as he climbed into the taxi. All the students were staying at a hotel; as the school couldn't afford everyone going back separately; but this was the last we'd see of Ritsu before we left._

_By the last week, only twenty students remained at the school, and none of us spoke at the eating hall, or even looked at each other. We were too busy scanning our pages and scrawling things down; even Oliver was. He was constantly running and re-running his finger over the braille and dotting down his answers with a very sharp pencil, that dented the paper._

_Even after hours, when all rehearsals, performances and lessons were done, and Oliver and I had headed back to our room, we didn't speak, as we needed to hit the hay and get as much sleep as possible._

_"Len, wake up," Oliver said, stirring me from my sleep. It was the first time he'd spoken to me in days; not that we were fighting, we just too tired and busy._

_"Mmm, what is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes sleepily. _

_"I can't sleep." Oliver said quietly._

_It was about three am in the morning; the sun was nowhere near rising and the curtains were still drawn shut._

_"My exam results are falling," Oliver explained, "I can't keep this up, Len; I'm going to end up going home with Ritsu and the others. I can't do this; I'm never going to get to the top and become famous and-"_

_"And you're worrying for nothing," I reassured him, "You're acing all your music exams, and you know that makes up the most of your scores. You'll be fine, you-"_

_I stopped, as Oliver had started crying, shaking nervously at the end of his bed across the dark room. I got up, walking across the floor and sitting next to him._

_"Don't worry, okay?" I said reassuringly, as he hugged me. _

_"Thanks, Len," He said, "I'm glad you're my friend."_

_[...]_

_Ten people left. _

_Only ten of us. _

_All of us were huddled backstage nervously, on the last day. We had to sing three songs; all written ourselves. We'd be given a score of ten for each songs message, tune, catchiness and how well we sang; the person with the highest combined score won a record deal._

_And, ultimately, made their dream come true._

_"Oh man, I wish this was like a game," Oliver said nervously, hopping from foot to foot, "So I could save and come back to this point if I lose." _

_"We all do," I laughed, "But if we all could, no-one would ever win." _

_"I know, I know," Oliver said, "But god; this is my chance, Len! I have to try, YOU have to try!" _

_"I will, I will," I laughed, "I have three songs, you?"_

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Oliver nodded, his hair going crazy, "I'll sing 'Circus Monster', 'Pumpkin March' and 'Finale'. What are you going to be singing?"_

_I'd heard all of Oliver's songs before; they were all beautiful, kind of creepy and disturbing and definitely his style. _

_"'Spice!', 'Mr. Taxi' and 'Lost Destination'." I explained, looking to the curtains impatiently, "Why can't they just started already?"_

_"I know..." I said nervously._

_"Jill Black!" One of the judges called, causing everyone to shuffle out the way as a nervous girl made her way onto stage. Everyone stayed silent as she sang her three songs, before being sent back. _

_"Fred Clarkson!" Nine people._

_"Nancy Davids!" Eight people..._

_"Lily Ferguson!" Seven._

_"Miku Hatsune!"_

_Miku breathed in deeply, shooting us a hopeful look and bouncing onto stage. Oliver nd hittlistened closely, as I peeked behind the curtain._

_"Hi, hi!" Miku said bubbily, "I'm Miku~! Nice to meet you! I hope you enjoy my songs, yeah? Okay! Leeeeet's go~!" _

_As the music immediately started, Miku began her song 'Sing And Smile', bouncing around happily to the music and interacting with the judges, by flicking her hair over her shoulder, smiling and posing._

_"We're screwed," I said, "She's a natural."_

_"She doesn't sound AMAZING." Oliver said._

_"Dammit, Ollie, she KNOWS how to work with a crowd." I said, "No wonder this is her second time getting through..."_

_"Thank you~!" Miku said, jumping happily and holding her microphone to her mouth, "I hope you enjoy this next song too~!"_

_She started off 'World Is Mine', acting just as the lyrics portrayed her; a cute diva. The judges kept gossiping together, as Miku kept up her dancing._

_"What should I sing next~?" Miku asked aloud, "I know~! I'll sing my favourite song for you~!"_

_She began singing 'Triple Baka' and I smiled to myself as she jumped up in down in frustration, cringing and really acting her part in the song._

_As she finished, she smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and bowing, "Thank you for listening to my songs~! Arigato!"_

_She headed out and smiled at me as the judges called my names. With sweaty palms, Miku leant over to me and spoke in my ear._

_"Just go with the music; act how the music portrays you," She advised, "Own the crowd." _

_I nodded, heading onto stage with my microphone in hand. Which song first? 'Spice!'? 'Mr. Taxi'? _

_As the bouncy beat to 'Spice!' began, I fitted into the character. And began strutting around stage, singing and interacting with the judges and moving with the music. Before I knew it, I'd sung all the songs, dancing to them and getting quite into them, and I was standing back stage as the next girl went on. _

_"Oh my god, you were amazing!" Miku and Oliver enthused the moment I got back, hugging me tightly. _

_"I'm going off to the cafeteria to get a snack, since once you've performed, you just have to wait for the results." Miku said, "I don't really see the point in watching everyone else perform; I should be back for your performance though, Ollie."_

_She smiled, before darting off to go get her snack - three guesses for what she's getting. Oliver and I sat by the side of the stage, waiting for his performance to come as I glugged down gulps of water from my drink bottle, realising how sore my throat got. _

_"Maybe I don't really have a chance..." Oliver said quietly._

_"Don't be ridiculous," I said, "As long as you have confidence in your voice and abilities, you'll be fine, I promise. You just have to believe in yourself, Oliver." _

_I ruffled his hair and he smiled confidently._

_"Oliver." The judges called and Oliver got up._

_"Take me on stage?" He asked and I nodded, looping my arm with his and helping him on stage. I headed back off to grab my drink bottle, before standing at the edge and peeking through the curtains. Miku came running back a few seconds later._

_"How much have I missed?" _

_"Not much, he only just started," I explained, as Miku squished next to me to watch. Oliver wasn't going to dance around stage as we had; that was obvious. Yet, if he could stop shaking, maybe he'd seem more at peace._

_As Oliver began to sing 'Circus Monster' he calmed and Miku and I sighed in relief, as Miku passed me a flask of leek and potato soup she'd picked up. I smiled at her, thanking her and taking a big gulpful of the beautifully hot liquid. Man, my throat needed that. She held a flask for Oliver once he got off, drinking her own._

_Oliver finished off Circus Monster and the judges talked among themselves, before Pumpkin March began._

_"You should've gotten hot chocolate for Oliver," I told Miku, "He'd have appreciated it more."_

_"They're out of hot chocolate," Miku explained, "Otherwise I would've also given you hot chocolate and had the rest of the leek - oh and potato - myself." _

_I laughed under my breath as Oliver finished up 'Pumpkin March' and began 'Finale'. His voice was quite sad whenever he sang Finale, and I swear one of the judges was getting slightly emotional from his voice. _

_"Thank you," The judges nodded and I dashed on, helping Oliver off as the next singer went through to the stage._

_"Oh god, how did I do?" Oliver asked._

_"You almost reduced one of the judges to tears, it was so beautiful!" Miku said, sniffling herself and wiping moisture from her eyes._

_Oliver laughed, "Really? Well... That's unexpected..."_

_"C'mon," I said, handing Oliver the flask of soup, "Let's go raid the cafeteria for sweets before the results are announced."_

_[...]_

_We weren't the only ones that decided to raid for food; but we WERE the only ones going for left-over shortcake from last night's celebrations. And I when I say 'we' I mean Oliver. _

_He sat at the table, eating the shortcake with a fork and spoon at the same time, trying to cram the sugary food into his mouth._

_"Wooga wakes mmthing wetter," Oliver explained, matter-of-factly. (Translation: Sugar makes everything better). He took another spoonful of shortcake, shoving it into his already full mouth._

_"Mmm dos," Miku agreed, her mouth full as well. (Translation: It does). _

_"Can you guys just not talk with your mouths full? It's kind of disgusting." I said._

_"Princess," Oliver said._

_"Shota," Miku added._

_"I'm NOT a Shota-"_

_Miku coughed, "'Spice!'."_

_"..."_

_"And you wrote it," Oliver added._

_"You guys are horrible-"_

_"Oh my god!" Miku said, "You're perfect for a song I wrote ages ago! It's called Magical Neko-"_

_"Len Len," Oliver added, and Miku giggled._

_"I hate the song of it already..." I said._

_"You can be a uke!"_

_"NO."_

_"Yes, and Ollie will be seme-"_

_"No, Ritsu should be."_

_"Ah, yes, fair point-"_

_"I AM NOT BEING UKE TO ANYONE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"_

_"...What if we make Ritsu the uke and your the seme-"_

_"NO." _

_"Pleeeease, Lenny, PLEASE!?" _

_"No way! You guys are devil spawn! I don't trust you!"_

_"Haha... Devil spawn... You crack me up, Len... NOW TAKE IT BACK."_

_"Never, Miku, never."_

_"TAKE IT BACK!"_

_"ACK LET GO OF ME!"_

_Miku had me in a head-lock, whereas Oliver just laughed hysterically, basically dying on the table. _

_"Oh my god I can't breathe," Oliver gasped._

_"LEN. Give you seme CPR!" Miku ordered._

_"1, Ewww, no; who knows where he's been? 2, I AM NO-ONE'S UKE!" I yelled._

_"Oh, no, Len, you see. You're not Oliver's uke, he's just your seme-"_

_"THAT'S THE SAME THING."_

_"Guuuys, heeeelp!" _

_"Your fault for scoffing down all that cake," I said dismissively._

_"HELP HIM!" Miku ordered me, so I pounded Oliver on the back and he spat out some sponge of the cake._

_"I owe you my life, Len-kins!" Oliver said happily._

_"Then don't call me Len-kins..."_

_"Lenny-kins?"_

_"No."_

_"Lenny?"_

_"No."_

_"Len-Len?"_

_"God, how many nicknames do I HAVE?"_

_"Trillions." _

_We all filtered out of the eating hall and headed back to the audition hall, as it was time for the results to be announced. _

_We all sat on the edge of the stage with the other contestants, apprehensive for the results. _

_"First," One of the judges said, "We'd like to acknowledge the schools that still remain here. Those schools are: VocaTone-"_

_"YEEEEEAH!" Miku, Oliver and I cheered, as all the previous VocaTone contestants flooded into the hall to see who was crowned winner._

_"Zero-G-" More cheers cut off the judge, as the students entered._

_"Yamaha-" The group next to us screamed and whistled._

_"And, finally, Sony."_

_"Whoop?" A guy cheered lamely. I stared at him; was he the ONLY Sony contestant?... The white-haired boy looked to his hands, his green-blue gaze not meeting the judges. _

_"So," The judge started slowly, "In tenth place... Is Jill Black!"_

_Jill didn't look too pleased with her 'tenth place' as she headed back to her school, crying on her friend's shoulder. _

_They continued going through our list and the three of us were incredibly apprehensive._

_"In fifth place... Piko Utatane!" _

_The Sony boy nodded, getting up and taking his certificate, before heading to the back of the hall, where he and his father started arguing. At least, I assumed the man was his father; as he had the similar hair and eyes. _

_"And fourth place goes to..." The judge said, causing us to all tense even more, "Nancy Davids!"_

_We all froze for a moment, before we realised; we were ALL in the top three! Miku let out a squeal as Ritsu yelled from the audience, swearing at how he should also be up there somewhere in the process of cheering for us._

_"Holy shit, this is... So exciting..." Miku said happily, bouncing up and down on the spot, "One of us has won!"_

_"In third place..." Said the judge, pausing as he took out the results from the envelope._

_"NO PREGNANT PAUSES MAN JUST SPIT IT OUT!" Miku yelled and Oliver laughed nervously._

_"...It turns out this person is in second place." The judge said, and we all froze._

_'What?" I said._

_"In SECOND place is Oliver, and in FIRST place is Miku Hatsune AND Len Kagamine..." The judge explained._

_Miku and I shot each other looks, before giving Oliver and hug._

_"Is there a tie breaker needed?" Miku asked the judges as I led Oliver back to Ritsu, who encouraged him - in a very Ritsu way - that he would definitely win next year._

_Miku kept talking to the judges, before finally, darting over to us._

_"What's the tie breaker?" I asked._

_"There is none," She said, beaming, "We BOTH get a record deal!" _

_"...You're kidding, right?"_

_"Nope! Since we both got even scores - and that had never happened - and we're both from the same school, we both get record deals; as our school wins no matter what!" Miku squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around me in a hug, "WE WON!"_

_[...]_

_Everyone else headed back to VocaTone, and we said our last few goodbyes, as we needed to stay in America for recordings, and, possibly to do a few concerts. Oliver clung to me for half an hour, yelling at the teachers when they tried to speed him up._

_"-clean behind your ears, change your underwear-"_

_"Oliver, seriously-"_

_"SHHH! I spent an hour preparing this speech!" Oliver said, hitting me. I laughed, as Oliver smiled, giving me one last hug._

_"But seriously," Oliver said, "Have fun, okay? I'll see you in the future on some tour or something; I promise."_

_"See you then," I grinned._

_"Oh, and by then, I'll definitely be dating Ruko," Oliver said, before adding, "And you won't haaave a girlfriend, haha-"_

_"Shut up.."_

_Oliver grinned, hugging me again, "I'm gonna miss having you around, Len."_

_"Going to miss you too," I said, "Won't be the same without you causing mayhem and screaming every three seconds."_

_Oliver grinned._

_"I'm sure you can replace him with a dog or a cat or something," Ritsu said, tugging on Oliver's arm impatiently, "Hurry up, or all the good seats will be taken..."_

_"Oh come on, Ritsu, you'll miss him too," Oliver rolled his eyes. Ritsu stopped, looked at me and frowned._

_"Nope, not really-"_

_"Ritsu."_

_"Okay, fine, yes, I'll miss him," Ritsu sighed, laughing, "Won't be as fun without the uke around."_

_"Here we go again..." I sighed and Oliver laughed, as Ritsu tugged his arm again._

_"CALL ME EVERY SECOND THURSDAY, EVEN THIRD WEDNESDAY, EVERY FIRST MONDAY AND EVERY EIGHTH SATURDAY!" Oliver yelled vague days as Ritsu shoved him onto the plane and Miku and I waved. Oliver was waving to some old man and we cracked up laughing, as Ritsu had obviously pointed out where he had to wave on purpose._

_"I really will miss him," I sighed._

_Miku ruffled my hair, "He's like your little brother, eh?"_

_"Yeah... I suppose he is... Like my crazy, messed-up, clumsy little brother." I grinned, as the plane raced down the runway and soared into the clear, blue sky._

**End of flashback chapters! I'll write a spin-off once I finish all my proper series... And all my other promised spin-offs... xD**

**Order of what I'm writing next:**

**How To Mess Up Your Relationship In Three Easy Steps (LenxGumi one-shot)**

**Poker Face**

**Sweet, Sweet Aisu**

**Crimson War Spin-Off: Remember?**

**Demon Spikes**

**VocaMania**

**Don't Be Shy**

**Circus Monster: Rewrite**

**Hero**

**Miss OCD**

**Ice Princess**

**Internet Dating Gone Wrong**

**The Outcasts**

**Blood Bells**

**Hogwarts Camp**

**Hunger Games I**

**Unbeatable**

**So, my poll for 'what should I do next' is now closed. *throws clones of Uke!Len at everyone* Thank you for your reviews! ;D**

**Also, I'm already opening entries for any OCs for the Hunger Games I will eventually write; in total, I need 22. All OCs will be accepted, even if I go over 22, as I need side characters. Please make sure they are YOUR characters and no-one else's. **

**I hope to see you all in the next few chapters and maybe future fan fictions! Please, whoever's spamming me with anonymous hate, just STOP, seriously... **

**Please review, fave and follow (but not hate)!**


	20. Chapter 20 - Science Fair

** A/N: Gomen... For the late update... You can run after me with any sharp knife and/or dangerous weapon you please... *rubs head* Ritsu already shot me with his missiles... T_T **

**Writer's block is the curse of the universe and NEEDS to be recognised as a disease in order for a cure to be made... Anyway, so, onto more subjects revolving around this and my other series...**

**1. I'M AT 200 REVIEWS! *flails happily* I feel as if I actually have a fanbase now and I-I it's amazing and I... I LOVE YOU GUYS! *hugs everyone and everyone sweat drops*. I shall upload a special chapter for you guys! Ya! *enthuiastic fist raise* LET'S DO THIS! **

**2. I really like chatting to you guys, just so you know, and I'd really love if people could send me story ideas for dates, funny moments and various other things! Especially involving Oliver :3 If you haven't got an account on fanfiction, head over to my dA page that I share with my friend and talk to me there! My username is: Vocaloid2013. **

**3. Tumblrrrrrr I shall make a tumblrrrrr soon! Probably... Depending on my parents' decision... So then I can talk to more people and maybe make an ask blog for one of my fave Vocaloids and draw answers (when/if I get a tablet...)**

**4. I think quite a few people are wondering about my age, so head over to my profile and VOTE for what you THINK my age is. I won't be saying what it is, but I'm interested in seeing what you guys think it is... Hehehe... You'll probably be wrong :3**

**5. Here's Uke!Len and Seme!Whoever for all you readers ;) (Lol, have fun Len~. Len: I f**king hate you...)**

**HERE WE GO! (Also, check out my new Fairy Tail series :3)**

A scream was what woke me up the next day. It pierced my ears and basically exploded my eardrums. I shot up in bed, hitting my head on the railings my head had been lying so close to, as I looked for the chainsaw-wielding murderer.

"What the hell?..." I asked, realising the room was quite empty besides from myself and the bed next to me.

"Oliver, get off of my bed!" Piko shrieked, trying to shove the smaller, blonde boy off the bed. Oliver looked confused as hell as Piko kept shoving him off the bed.

Oliver's shirt was halfway off of his head, having gotten stuck on his messy curls. His eyes were widened as Piko finally managed to shove him off the bed and Oliver fell to the ground with an 'oomph'.

"WHY THE HELL WERE YOU TRYING TO RAPE ME!" Piko accused, speaking much too fast for Oliver to ever understand it. In fact, I could barely understand it.

"I AM NOT GAY I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND WHY THE HELL DID YOU EVEN DO YOU KNOW HOW OH MY GOD THAT WAS JUST OH GOD NO STAY UGH NO DON'T GET UP STOP STOP LEN MAKE HIM STOP!" Piko screamed, his voice breaking three octaves.

Piko stopped trying to talk and just made flustered noises, flailing his arms as if they gave more of an explanation.

I started laughing, causing Piko to rant at me as he turned even redder.

"Len, stop, you wouldn't be laughing if you were in my place, it's not nice! Stop! I THOUGHT I WAS YOUR FRIEND!" Piko yelled.

"I-i-it h-has h-h-happened to m-m-me," I said in breaks of the laughter. Piko raised his eyebrows as I fell face first into the blankets, trying to muffle out my laughter. When I finally stopped laughing, I put on a serious face and sang.

"Piko and Oliver sitting in a tree; doing something they shouldn't be, starts with s, ends with-"

"Do it and you will not live to the age of twenty." Piko challenged and I burst out laughing again.

"P-Piko, you're u-u-uke," I giggled and Piko went even redder, "AWWWW THAT IS SO CUTE YOU'RE BLUSHING!"

"LEN I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP TONIGHT!"

"Um..." Oliver said awkwardly, "What happened?..."

"In short, you tried to rape Piko." I said.

"WHAT?!" Oliver said, "OH MY GOD, EW, EW, EW, EW, EW, EW! I MUST HAVE COODIES! LEN HELP ME, SAVE ME, I'M GOING TO DIE, LEEEEEEEEN!"

"LEEEEEEN!" Piko yelled at the same time, "HE'S GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN! HELP MEEEE!"

"I can assure you, he won't," I smirked as Oliver ran around blindly and bounced into the wall.

A nurse opened the door curiously, "What's going on in here?"

"HE TRIED TO RAPE ME!" Piko yelled, pointing at Oliver accusingly.

"It's just a big misunderstanding," I told the nurse, "He sleep walks and ended up in the same bed and everyone's just overreacting." I giggled.

"Len, stop giggling, ya git, s'not funny," Oliver said, holding his now bleeding nose from banging into the wall (A/N: Not something else, you pervs!).

"Snot funny..." I burst out laughing again.

"That is the worst bloody pun ever you git, stop laughing or I swear on me mum's grave I'll-"

"OH MY GOD YOUR ACCENT IS SO-!"

"SHUT THE BLOODY 'ELL UP, LEN!"

The nurse frowned as Oliver got up, "Why is he in your room? Visiting hours are over and he doesn't seem to have any major injuries..."

"He's a moron who needs to be locked away for the safety of the world, take him somewhere else before he tries to rape me again-" Piko started.

"He was mistaken for being heavily injured," I interrupted Piko's rant, "I have the phone number of someone who can come pick him up if you need."

The nurse nodded and gave her Teto's number. Dell came and picked up Oliver a few hours later, and Oliver ranted on about how his nose hurt and everyone was so horrible to him and the world was cruel and etc., etc. and from the look on Dell's face, I could tell he understood enough to know he was bored of the conversation.

"So," The nurse said, coming back into the room with a clipboard in her hands, "I understand you two have a school science fair on the weekend, and you, Mister Kagamine, have a concert. We think your injuries are okay; as long as you," She pointed at Piko, "Walk on crutches and you," She gestured to me, "Keep you arm bandaged up, you guys can go on Saturday."

We nodded and the nurse left us. Piko still seemed uncomfortable from what happened with Oliver.

"It happens to everyone," I told him simply.

"Still doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it," Piko huffed, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly.

"Tsun, tsun~" I sang.

"Len, no," Piko glared at me and I smirked.

"I'm not a tsundere, I just don't feel comfortable with other guys..." Piko said quietly.

"Homotsundere?"

"DERE?"

I smirked, "You know it, Pi-Pi~"

"Why did I risk my neck for you again?" Piko growled, looking away.

"Just admit it, Pi-Pi-kun, we're best friends for life now~"

"In your dreams."

"And yours~"

"Shut up, Len."

"Never~"

"You have to stop hanging around Oliver."

"Shit, you're right I'm turning into him..."

[...]

On Friday afternoon, Piko's family came to visit, as well as quite a few of our shared high school friends. Celeste, Kale and that girl I met in the bookstore, Mizune, came along with Piko's sister, mother and - grudgingly - his father.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Celeste asked worriedly.

"No, I'm on death's door," Piko groaned, "I need an angel to make it better-"

"AND THINGS JUST GOT KINKY." Mizune interrupted.

"Shut up!" Piko yelled.

"Piko, did you get hit on the head or something? You're being tsundere~" I asked.

"Did YOU get dropped on your head as a baby-?"

"Piko! Be nice!" Piko's mother fussed. His sister was too busy crying and apologising.

"Tsundere!Piko eh? I ship you so hard with Len then..."

"STOP, KALE, JUST STOP."

"Hey, it doesn't matter if I ship you guys, does it?"

"YES IT DOES."

"Because you're afraid it'll become official~" Mizune sang happily.

"NO."

I wasn't even yelling, I was just laughing.

"Len, what do you think of my shipping?"

"I think you've got problems," Piko growled.

"I think Piko would be adorable as my waifu!" I enthused, causing Piko to flush and yell at me.

"WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON, LEN?!"

"Comedy's side~"

"Oh man!" Celeste said, looking at her watch, "Mi-chan, we gotta go; we'll be late with our science project otherwise!"

"Has anyone seen Rin?" I asked.

"She hasn't talked to any of us," Kale shrugged, "Hasn't even turned up to school lately either; can't really blame her though; lots of pressure, I suppose."

"Kale~" Mizune whined, "You have to help us~ You promised~"

"I'm not good with computers though..."

"We just need more hands, please!" Mizune said, giving him puppy dog eyes, "PLEEEEEEEASE?"

"Oh fine," Kale said, "Only if you accept my ship of you and-"

"KALE DON'T FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" Mizune told him, flying her hands over his mouth.

Kale just grinned as the threesome left.

"I'm so sorry, Piko, I should've told someone, this is all my fault-" Ia was still ranting her apology on, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Ia, please," Piko said, rubbing her light pink curls, "It's okay, really."

Ia nodded, wiping tears from her eyes and hiccuping.

"Piko," Piko's father finally addressed him.

Piko pursed his lips, "You came."

"Of course I did," Piko's father grumbled, "You ARE my son; no matter how much I deny it."

Piko dropped his gaze, before mumbling a faint 'thank you'.

"Also, since it's only your leg damaged, you're to practise your guitar in the hospital, okay?" Piko's dad said firmly, "If you must, practise at night."

"But I might wake Len-"

"I don't give a damn about choir boy, Piko," Piko's father grumbled, "I don't even want you to mention singing or anyone who has anything to do with singing; you had your chance to prove to me singing was somehow useful, and you blew it, an eleven year old got a higher placing than you, for God's sake."

"Yes father, sorry father," Piko mumbled.

"Good, now don't give me anymore shit about singing or disturbing choir boy, okay?" Piko's father said gruffly, "Ia, honey, let's go."

"Yes dad," Ia nodded, leaving Piko's side and walking off with her parents. As the door closed, I looked at Piko, who's lips were pursed and his face wiped of any emotion.

"What was that about?"

"I entered this singing competition a long time ago," Piko sighed, "As the only student from my dad's boarding school too; I came fifth and dad's never really looked at me the same."

"Singing competition?" I frowned. _Wait..._

"Yeah, two kids from VocaTone won," Piko said, smiling at me slightly, "Mind you, they're hell popular now, so I shouldn't really feel bad, eh?"

"Wait..." I said, "Is your dad the owner of Sony?..."

Piko smiled, "Yeah, small world after all, huh, Len?"

"Wow," I said, "I didn't even recognise you..."

Piko laughed, "You wouldn't recognise any of the other kids either. No big deal."

I shrugged, before frowning, "Piko, you came fifth out of hundreds of kids; why is your dad ashamed of you?"

"Because it wasn't _first_," Piko sighed, "My dad... Has this thing with coming first."

"He should proud of you..." I sighed.

"Well, he obviously wasn't," Piko growled, "Because he expelled me from Sony, banned me from singing and sent me off to Crypton with my sister. He doesn't exactly get the 'father-of-a-life-time-award'."

"Neither does my dad," I said quietly, "He used to beat me."

Piko looked at me in surprise, "He did?"

"Yeah..." I sighed, "He killed my mum, so I ended up an orphan."

"Holy shit," Piko said, "And they say that superstars are spoiled..."

I shrugged, "I'm not the only one it's happened to, so I can't really complain; besides, I've got it better than the majority of the world's population."

"I s'pose." Piko sighed, before looking to me again, "What do you think is up with Rin?"

I shrugged, "I'm not a psychic, I don't know what goes on in her head."

"Yeah, but you guys like each other - it's painfully obvious, Len; don't deny it - so don't you have some kind of idea?"

"Nope."

Piko sighed, "Hopefully we'll her tomorrow, eh?"

[...]

On Saturday, Sonika and Oliver came to pick me up; being the better friends than Dell and Teto. Also, Sonika wanted Oliver to get out of the house for a while.

"But it's hot," Oliver whined, "And dry and I don't like it. Everything smells weird - wait, no, that's just Len - but stillll. It's too hot and everything's too big and open and I feel small-"

"You ARE small," I retorted.

"Well excuse you," Oliver said, "I'm adorable, remember?" He battered his eyelids.

Sonika rolled her eyes, "Oliver, stop whining and just get in the car then."

Oliver huffed, walking into the car door before opening it and getting in the backseat.

"Anyway, Len," Sonika said, "Your old manager - SeeU - recently had a family crisis and won't be able to come back to be your manager."

"But I thought she cut off all ties with her family," I frowned.

Sonika shrugged, "Apparently something happened and now she feels the need to go back and see them all. Must've been pretty bad - she's really passionate about her job, even though she only became full-time a few months ago..."

I sighed, "So, am I stuck with Teto?"

"Looks like it..." Sonika sighed.

"Can't you do something?" I asked, "To make it so that I can have a different manager or something?..."

"Sorry, but there's nothing I can do," Sonika sighed, "Obviously, if Teto is irresponsible enough, then you'll be removed from her care, as she _is _technically acting as your guardian as well."

I smirked, "So, you technically adopted Oliver?"

"Ugh," Sonika groaned, "He's a good kid but... ugh..."

"You raised him~" I sang happily.

"Shut up," Sonika said, smiling slightly, as we both got into the car.

"Sonika~" Oliver sang, "I want ice-cream~"

"No," Sonika said firmly.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES." Oliver said loudly, before screaming, "I WANT ICE-CREAM!"

"Oliver, shut up and I'll consider it," Sonika sighed, causing Oliver to celebrate.

"Now, as celebration for my triumph, turn on the radio!" Oliver demanded.

"No way," I said, "Knowing my luck it'll be 'Magical Neko Len Len'."

"Don't worry~" Oliver said happily, "It came on during the drive to the hospital, so it won't be~"

I frowned, before turning on the radio and freezing.

"Is this..."

"Shota, Shota, burning night!" Oliver sang happily.

"Sonika, stop the car, I need to destroy something. Namely Oliver."

Oliver sang in a high, squeaky voice, the same voice he used when singing Magnet with me all those years ago... Sonika didn't pull over, instead she hummed along.

"...I hate you guys."

"Love you too, Len Len~" Oliver sang. I sighed, giving in as they both sang to it happily.

"Now! Ice-cream!" Oliver said.

"No," I said, "Not after that."

"But it's not my fault the radio broadcast that!" Oliver whined.

"You sang to it..."

Then, 'Spice!' came on and I froze.

"If we go get ice-cream, we can get away from this song," Oliver told me wisely.

"Yeah! Ice-cream! Go, go, go!" I said, as Sonika stopped the car.

"I can't see why you wrote that song in the first place..." Oliver said, "You must've been horny at the time or-"

"And you write emo songs." I retorted as we got out of the car and Oliver clung to my arm.

"I write emo songs for a reason though," Oliver said.

"Oh really?"

"Yes," Oliver said, taking a breath and tossing his head back dramatically, "I have a deep, inner sadness that cannot be matched! If you knew, you would never recover!"

I laughed, as Sonika got out of the car and followed us up to the ice-cream shop.

"So, what flavours you guys want?" Sonika asked.

"Banana," I said simply.

"Obviously," Sonika replied.

"Choco-"

"No."

"Choc chip?"

"No."

"Mint with choc chip?"

"NO. No chocolate."

"Wait, how about DOUBLE choc chip-"

"Oliver, no chocolate."

"Poopyhead." Oliver pouted, before waiting a few seconds, "PLEASE SONIKA! I'LL EVEN TAKE DIET CHOCOLATE FOR GOD'S SAKE! I'LL BE QUIET FOR AN HOOOOOUR!"

"Whoa," I said, "He's desperate."

"I aaaaaaam." Oliver pleaded, "Please, I want chocolate, I'll do anything!"

"...Even sing an embarrassing song at tonight's concert?" Sonika asked cheekily.

"Sonika... You're supposed to be a mature adult..." I sighed.

"Depends," Oliver said, "What kind of song?"

"If you sing 'I Don't Care Who, Somebody Go Out With Me' I'll get you double choc chip." Sonika said, "I still have the music for the song and everything~"

"WAIT," I said, "Why do you-"

"The hiding place for your diary's key is so easy~"

"DIARY?!" Oliver blurted, laughing hysterically.

"I swear to god-"

"Anyway," Oliver said, smirking, "Tis a deal~"

"Hahaha... I'm so taking my camera."

"Oliver, stop, you're influencing her," I said firmly.

"Hahahaa, no." Oliver said seriously, "I will never stop! Not until the universe is mine!"

"I swear, I only know five year olds..."

[...]

Oliver was quite happy after finally getting his way with the chocolate chip ice-cream, so he happily practised for his song that he'd be performing, causing me to tell him to stop at every possible time.

"You only say that because of why you wrote that song in the first place~" Oliver said cheekily.

My reply was simply flustered noises, which Oliver simply laughed at. We pulled up at the school later that afternoon just in time for the science fair, which had been delayed due to Kaito dripping ice-cream on the microphone. Everyone was setting up stalls for all sorts of things; some people sold food, others were demonstrating their experiments. I looked around for Rin; where was she?

"Hey, Len!" Piko yelled, leaning on his crutches, waving to me, "You got here on time!"

"Yeah," I said, "We had to stop for ice-cream."

"And you didn't get me some?!" Mizune whined, "Kale! He didn't get us any!"

"I know! Inconsiderate much!" Kale said.

I walked over to the group while Oliver remained clinging to Sonika's leg, whispering crazy things about everyone being out to get him.

"So, where's your project?" Mizune asked, hands clamped behind her back.

"God knows," I shrugged with one shoulder, "Rin had it last I checked."

"Where IS Rin?" Piko frowned.

"Don't look at me," I one-shoulder-shrugged again.

"If she doesn't get here, you'll flunk," Kale said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Kale."

"You're welcome."

"Sarcasm doesn't reach you..."

"Man, your grumpy," Piko rolled his eyes.

"And you're tsun~" Mizune said happily. Piko flushed.

"Wh-wh-what no, I'm not ts-tsun!" Piko denied.

"Pi-kun!" Celeste said happily, jogging over and grabbing the flushing Piko's hand, "Come try this cake! It's the best!"

"Good job, Celeste~" Mizune winked.

"DID I HEAR THE WORD CAKE?!" Oliver screamed, stumbling over to where he'd heard our voices, tripping and falling ontop of Piko.

"THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEK!" Piko screamed and I lost it laughing.

"New OTP," Kale said, taking out his phone and taking a picture.

"KALE!" Piko yelled.

I helped Oliver up and he clung to me.

"Len, give me caaaake," Oliver whined.

"Oliver, no, you've had way too many sweets today-"

"Len, Sonika and I read your entire diary, and while she's not mean enough to blackmail you, I AM. So give me cake."

"Pfft, I doubt it."

"Oh really?" Oliver smirked, "Let me recite something then~"

"I don't care."

Oliver grinned, and then spoke in Japanese, "'Today I was just sitting in my room wondering what it would be like to actually go out with me; everyone else is, but no-one seems to notice me. I suppose I'm just to se-'."

"OH MY GOD, FINE, JUST STOP!" I yelled, making flustered noises as I shoved Oliver into Mizune, "Please, just, get him some cake..."

Mizune giggled as Oliver clung to her and she took him off to get some cake.

"Pi-kun, let's go too~" Celeste sang, tugging Piko's sleeve. Piko sighed and went off with her.

"What were you and Rin making for your science project anyway?" Kale asked me.

"A solar-powered robot," I shrugged, "I have no idea how it turned out though..."

"Be a pity if it didn't end up working." Kale sighed.

"Yeah..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "I have no idea really."

"Well, we'll see, huh..."

"Len-san," Kaito said, walking up to me, "Would you happen to have a microphone on you?"

"Why would I have a microphone?" I frowned.

"Well, you ARE a singer..."

Oliver came back with Mizune and the two already seemed to be friends.

"That's kind of superficial," I sighed.

"But DO you have a microphone on you?"

"No-"

"I DO!" Oliver yelled, digging in his pocket and taking out a microphone.

"...Why?" I asked.

"Always be prepared, Len. Always be prepared." Oliver said, nodding knowingly as Kaito took the microphone and hooked it up to the school's sound system.

I frowned, looking around, "Where IS Rin? Good lord..."

"Maybe she's walking," Piko said, returning with Celeste and a slice of cake, "May explain why she's late."

Oliver slowly edged towards Piko's cake and raised his hand towards it, causing Piko to slap it away.

"Ow," Oliver said, rubbing his hand sorely.

"You can work out where cake is, but not the door?" I asked Oliver.

"Cake is much more important!" Oliver enthused.

"For you, maybe, but not for your nose, wellbeing and hospital budget." I sighed.

"Budget?" Mizune frowned, being pretty good at English.

"He has a budget for how much money is allowed to be spent on him in hospital." I explained.

Mizune giggled.

"Hey, is that Rin?" Piko asked. I turned, seeing a motorbike swerve and pull up at the school gates. The two riders both had blonde hair pulled back in clips, their blue eyes squinting against the wind as they quickly got off, grabbing a box off the back of the bike and racing into the school yard.

"Wait, no, nevermind, it's just some biker chick with Rin's head," Piko said casually.

"Oh god, Rinto, why did you take the SCENIC route?" Rin asked furiously.

"I didn't," Rinto denied, "I took the normal route from downtown and I had to go grocery shopping for oranges so..."

"You couldn't have gone shopping AFTER the science fair, could you?" Rin asked.

"Rin, seriously, can YOU live without oranges for that long?"

"Yes, because I'm not an obsessive freak," Rin retorted.

Rinto rolled his eyes, as Rin headed over to Meiko to hand in our project; without telling me about it before of course. Rin signed off some papers before heading over to where we all stood.

"You guys are out of hospital, huh?" Rin said, looking at my sling and Piko's crutches.

"Yeah," Piko nodded.

"Your injuries don't look that bad," Rin frowned.

"Disappointed?" I asked gruffly.

"What's got you in such a grumpy mood?" Rin retorted.

"Oh, I don't know," I shrugged, looking away, "Maybe the fact you didn't even visit me while I was _in hospital_."

"Well excuse me for having family issues," Rin said, "My dad was shot, you know."

Insta guilt trip.

"Sorry..." I said quietly.

"AWWWW!" Kale enthused, "You two hug~"

"NO." Rin said firmly as I grabbed her by the shoulder and hugged her anyway.

"Do I get a hug?" Oliver asked Piko.

"NO." Piko said, so Oliver hugged him anyway.

"WHAT NO STOP, STOP, OLIVER, STOP, AH!" Piko said, "STTTTOOOOP."

"Number one OTP..." Kale mused.

"Are you gay?" Piko asked Kale.

"No," Kale said, "It's perfectly normal for me to ship you if I make you a girl, Piko."

"Oliver's the guy?" I asked.

"Only coz Piko's totally uke."

I smirked, "Pi-kun's a uke~"

"SHUT UP LEN!"

"Funny, coming from a uke..." Oliver mused.

"Oliver don't you start on that again-"

Oliver grinned evilly, laughing.

"Excuse me, everyone, everyone!" Kaito announced and we all looked up to where he was announcing the beginning of the science fair from the stage.

"So, for those who aren't familiar with the way Crypton High science fairs work, it's quite simple! Look around and see all the projects the students have made, before voting for the most creative, useful and environmentally friendly one!" Kaito explained, "The voting will be closed in half an hour, so be sure to look around quickly! The winner's get this beautiful, double layed chocolate cake, with thick chocolate icing, chocolate puffs and chocolate cream in between layers!"

"I heard chocolate..." Oliver said quietly, "Like... fifty-eight times..."

"Don't be ridiculous Oliver," I rolled my eyes, "It was only four times."

"LEN, you NEED to win," Oliver said violently, "YOU NEED TO GET ME THAT CAKE!"

"Okay, okay, jeez," I said, as the crowd walked off to look at the science projects kids were showing and demonstrating. Not many people had been creative; just making a more advance version of a potato battery, where the potato powered a small vehicle. Mizune and Celeste had made a pretty advance version of a worm farm and seemed quite happy with what they'd managed. But Rin had seemingly disappeared into a puff of smoke and was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd Rin go?" I asked.

"She stalked off to the art room for some reason," Piko said, kicking his solar-powered remote-control car that was refusing to start, "Got her brother to start demonstrating the robot you guys made."

I turned and saw Rinto playing with the robot that was edging forward and saying hello to everyone who came passed, causing everyone to smile at it and start conversing with it. Wow... It could talk... Rin really was a genius, huh?

I frowned, before jogging down to the art room. Rin sat on the bottom step, head in her hands, blonde hair falling on her knees.

"Rin?" I called.

She didn't reply or even move, just sitting there looking to the floor. I sat on the stair beside her for a few minutes, not saying anything. Finally, she lifted her head up and rested it on my shoulder. I rested my hand on her shoulder, holding her close to me as I saw a few silvery tears leave the corner of her eyes.

"It's not fair," She said quietly, "First Neru dies... Then my dad gets shot... It's just... Not fair..."

She sniffled, more tears creeping over her cheeks, that were reddening and puffing up. I rested my head on hers.

"Life isn't fair," I sighed, "Sometimes, it's really good and then all sorts of shit just... happens."

"It's going to get better though, right?" Rin asked.

"Always does," I sighed, "When my mum died and my dad was arrested, I just thought things would never be good again; but my friends made sure it was. Not to mention the record deal."

"That would've been amazing," Rin sighed, "To get a record deal and win a competition..."

"Actually," I said, "I didn't think there was any good to come from that... You corrected me."

She flushed and I kissed her forehead lightly, hugging her to me. She left her hands on my chest and didn't bother to protest.

"Are you still unsure?" I asked quietly.

"I... I don't know," Rin sighed, "I just don't feel like doing anything. Not while everything seems so hopeless..."

I looked at her before standing and offering her my hand.

"What?" She asked.

"I have an idea that'll cheer you up," I smiled. She took my hand and stood as I led her behind the stairs and into the music rooms. I headed down into the practise room with the piano and slid open the door, before leading her inside.

I sat down in front of the piano and beckoned her to sit beside me, so she did. Pushing up the lid with my one good hand, I sprawled my fingers across the keys.

"You can't possibly play with one hand," She said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, it's impossible," I said, before grabbing her hand and laying it on the keys, "So I need you to play with me."

"Len, I can't play," Rin laughed, "Didn't I tell you that before?"

"Of course you can play," I rolled my eyes, "You're Rin Akita for God's sakes, if your not a genius, then I don't know who is."

She flushed as I smiled.

"Besides, it IS your song," I said, before beginning to play the higher notes to 'Dolls'. Luckily for Rin, the soprano part was more difficult, meaning she had less keys to play (okay, stuff up, but it WAS her first go). Rin smiled and began singing to it. As I ended the song on the last ringing chord she smiled and rested her head on my shoulder, and, even though it was my bad shoulder, I didn't mind.

"To think that just two weeks ago, I hated your very existence." Rin laughed, "And now you're cheering me up by playing this with one hand."

I reached across and brushed her bangs aside, kissing her forehead, "Least I can do. You were the one to call Piko and check if I were there, remember?"

She dipped her head out of my lips way, before meeting my lips with her own. We sat there for a few moments, in front of the piano with our lips locked together, before she finally pulled away and stood, taking my hand.

"Let's go see how the rest of this science fair turns out, eh?"

[...]

"I ordered Sonika to watch everyone voting," Oliver told me the moment he apparently 'smelled' that I'd come back, "She says you guys are drawing with some chick called Lily's project."

"Lily's beating us," I growled under my breath.

Rin frowned, "Only one thing for it." She started dragging me up to the stage.

"Rin what are you-"

"You threw out the idea, so you're doing it now," She said firmly, "Sing your pants off, boy."

She handed me the microphone and I raised an eyebrow as everyone started asking questions.

"You want me to-"

"Metophorically!"

"Tsun~" I smiled and Rin pouted, before jumping off the stage and running to Kaito, whispering something in his ear. He nodded and Rin jumped back on stage, swiping the microphone from my hands.

"Hello, everyone!" Rin said, "The one and only super famous Len Kagamine has graced us with his prescence today, and will be performing a special concert to help raise awareness for the environment! He'll even be taking requests-"

"And, because I need back-up vocals, Rin will be helping me," I grabbed her elbow before she could scurry off, dragging her back on stage.

"Len, I can't _sing_," Rin hissed.

"Yes you can," I smiled, "And you're good at it."

"Please sing 'Butterfly On Your Right Shoulder'!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Happily~" I grinned, "Rin-chan~ You start~"

"You know I'm going to kill you for this."

"We're partners, right?"

"...Still going to kill you." Rin sighed. Someone managed to find the backing track and the music began in the background. I looked at Rin and she began singing.

_"A purple butterfly on your right shoulder. We kissed in the corner of the room. I learned what it's like, to have a heartrending feeling. Sounds of piano rebounded, inside my head."_

She glared at me and I easily swiped the microphone and began singing my heart out. It wasn't really difficult; I had to do it often anyway, so what did it matter what the song was or who I was singing it with? I had to admit though, every time Rin joined in, shivers did go down my spine. I didn't even realise when the end of the song was fast approaching...

_"I want to die now, get rid of my regrets. Which one do I have more? My pleasure or my pities? Help me stop myself or I will end up mad, give me a moment knowing that I'm at ease-"_

On an urge, I grabbed Rin's hand as raised our hands and she went alone with it as we continued singing. Several people already had their phones out and were streaming the performance to youtube.

_"A purple butterfly, lying on your right shoulder. Kiss me gently in the corner of the room. I'll teach you what it's like to feel pain. The piano plays on and loops in my head." _

As I sang, I heard 'Dolls' playing over and over in my head on a loop of sorts. As Rin and I finished, millions of more cover requests were thrown at our feet and even as we sang them, I don't think any of them affected us quite like 'Butterfly On Your Right Shoulder'...

[...]

"Now!" Kaito said happily, reclaiming the stage after Rin and I's massive performance, in which we tired as hell from. Yet I still had ANOTHER concert. Oh man...

"The votes are in," Kaito explained, "Ms. Sakine, Mrs. Megurine and Mr. Kamui and I counted up all the votes and the winner is quite obvious just from the sheer amount of slips with their names! Rin Akita and Len Kagamine!"

Rin squealed excitedly, kissing me quickly before throwing her arms around my neck. I turned bright red due to the fact EVERYONE was still watching us. And recording us. And streaming us live to youtube.

Realising what she'd done, Rin separated from me as quick as possible before going up on stage to claim our prize - a trophy and half of the super chocolate cake each. We smiled and accepted our awards, Rin saying a thank you to her brother for his assistance before we headed off down the stage.

"I hope you plan on giving me that," Oliver said, "Because if you don't, just know that I knnow where you live and sleep, Len. And I know _dangerous _people. If I were you, I'd just hand over the cake, so no-one would get hurt."

"You can have it all," I shrugged, handing the box to Oliver, "I'm not a fan of chocolate anyway. Much prefer bananas."

"You, my friend, are INSANE." Oliver said, before smiling, "I like it!"

Rin was talking with her brother and before I could even go over to talk to her, she was waving goodbye and running off back to her brother's bike.

"Len, what happens if one of those videos gets aired?" Sonika asked me, worried lines creasing her forehead.

"People will just think she's another fangirl," I sighed, "Besides, everyone still has this mad idea that Miku and I are dating. Rin's fine."

"I hope so..." Sonika sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, "Well, let's get home... Shall we?"

**Ah, yes, so ends Not A Fan... Don't worry though! I will be releasing a sequel! :3 **

**Also... I had my birthday! :3 Happy birthday to me! **

**Thanks to everyone for the continued support this series - and my other series - have had. Especially to those readers who found Crimson War and have stuck with me since then! Don't forget I love talking to you all, so send me private messages if you want!**


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